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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26974285">line without a hook.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/annabethkins/pseuds/annabethkins'>annabethkins</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Gods (Percy Jackson), Annabeth Chase &amp; Piper McLean Friendship, Basketball Player Percy Jackson, Bisexual Piper McLean, Cheerleader Annabeth Chase, Childhood Friends, Crying, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, High School, Hurt Percy, Implied Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Misunderstandings, Nico Thalia and Percy are cousins, Panic Attacks, Percy Being an Idiot, Percy Jackson has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Percy Jackson is a Good Friend, Percy and Annabeth are bad at communicating, Percy cries a lot lol, Percy is a Dork, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, Slow Burn, Thalia and Jason aren't related, like really bad, percabeth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:22:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26974285</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/annabethkins/pseuds/annabethkins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy and Annabeth have been best friends since middle school with on and off feelings for one another. Just like all teenagers, they're terrible at communicating their feelings which leads to a boatload of high school drama. </p><p>When Percy impulsively asks out Rachel to the Winter Dance, Annabeth's world shatters, and their friendship doesn't feel the same. Will they ever confront their feelings for one another? Or will they just suffer until the end of Junior Year?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase &amp; Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase &amp; Piper McLean, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace &amp; Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson &amp; Sally Jackson, Rachel Elizabeth Dare/Percy Jackson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>73</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>TITLE UPDATW + based on the song. L</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everything feels so important in Junior year in all categories of High School. If you don’t keep yourself busy you’re either boring or asking to fall into a fit of depression, or maybe both. Counselors will breathe down your neck about doing as many clubs as you can to ensure you get into that one Ivy League across the country, even if you aren’t suitable for that club. And that’s exactly what Annabeth Chase was doing. </p><p>She didn’t fully comprehend what she was getting herself into when she signed her name on the Cheer Teams sign-ups. Hell, she didn’t even think she’d make it past the auditions, but they told her they liked her pure energy. She didn’t know if she should take that as a compliment or not. </p><p>Percy of course had nothing to worry about. He knew he’d be captain of the basketball team by his Junior year since he first tried out. Even if he wasn’t good at basketball, his popularity would give him his ranking on the team. But that’s the thing, he was great at everything he did. Swimming, playing piano, fumbling around with other sports like lacrosse and soccer, hell he was even somewhat good at dancing. Maybe he should be on the team instead of her. </p><p>Annabeth always complained to Percy about how she wasn’t good enough, and of course, every time he disagreed. She was good at a lot of things that mostly didn’t involve coordination. She was the top student in every class, set to be Valedictorian, and was overall very academically inclined. Percy admired her for it, even with her ADHD and Dyslexia, she was taking every AP class offered to her. I guess Percy just got the short end of the stick in the academic area. </p><p>“Annabeth, please can you give me the homework for Mr. D’s class,” Percy pleaded, watching her grab her cheer clothes for practice from her locker. Annabeth smiled to herself, beginning to stuff a couple of books in her bag. </p><p>“I told you, Percy, I’m not just gonna give you the answers.” She told him. He whined at her, leaning his body against the lockers behind him. “But I told you I’d help you when we call tonight.” She shut her locker, then bopped the tip of his nose. He frowned </p><p>Annabeth began walking towards the nearest exit, Percy trailing behind her. She wanted to tell him to leave her alone and stop whining, but then she’d be lying. She kinda liked it when he did this. It reminded her of a little puppy dog begging for a treat. </p><p>“What if I made you a batch of your favorite cookies tonight.” He asked her with a large grin. That was sure to convince her, but Annabeth just rolled her eyes. She turned around to face him.</p><p>“You have a basketball practice to get to.” She told him, ignoring his proposal. Percy’s eyes widened, realizing he was gonna be late and he wasn’t changed into his uniform yet. </p><p>“Shit, I gotta go.” He said, giving her a quick hug before he dashed off into the other direction, bumping into a few students on the way. Annabeth laughed, she really loved her best friend. </p><p>Bestfriend. That’s all she’d considered Percy since they were 11 years old, well at least officially. From time to time, she’d find herself thinking about him romantically, but that’d only last for a month until her more-than-platonic feelings for him went on hiatus. </p><p>She doubted he ever thought that way about her as well. Sometimes her mind would try to convince her Percy was thinking about her when he went to bed at night, or maybe he would tell their friends they held hands in a platonic way just for an excuse to hold her hand romantically. Even sometimes when he got really excited he’d kiss her on the cheek. But every time they confronted these occurrences, they’d agree it was only platonic. Plus, they've never said I love you. Not romantically, not platonically. </p><p>Annabeth got to cheer practice barely on time since Percy had been holding her up. The girls glared at her as they’d already been starting their daily warm-up. It was required Annabeth have it memorized by the end of her first week at cheer, but this was her fifth month in, and she still got confused about whether push-ups or jumping jacks came first. </p><p>She filed in the middle of the group next to some senior named Drew, but she didn’t attempt to greet her. Annabeth was already in enough trouble. Rachel didn’t mention her absence until the warm-ups finished, and all the girls laughed at Annabeth as her face got red. She hated being lectured in front of the team, especially when Rachel was doing the lecturing. </p><p>Annabeth didn’t know why, but something about Rachel rubbed her the wrong way. She knew Percy and Rachel were acquaintances since they had a few classes together, all classes that Annabeth happened to not be in. She didn’t wanna be the jealous type, but she always somehow felt insecure whenever Percy would mention Rachel. </p><p>Plus, Annabeth always felt as if Rachel was out to get her, which probably wasn’t the case. Rachel got on Annabeth’s head the most, even though she was the newbie of the cheer squad. Annabeth assumed Rachel would go easy on her knowing about her asthma, but somehow Rachel would ask Annabeth for more whether it be straighter legs or to pick up the pace. God, she hated cheer. But this was all for college, it would all be worth it when she gets into Stanford. </p><p>Speaking of her asthma, it wasn’t doing her any favors today. It never did her any favors at all, but today was even worse. She wanted to stop practice for a second, maybe take an inhaler break before she collapses, but then she remembered her inhaler was in Percy’s gym bag. No way she was gonna walk into the boy’s locker room for a few puffs, especially when the team was already bothered with her. But then again, she felt like she was gonna die.</p><p>“Is there a problem, Annabeth?” Rachel said, pausing the music. I guess she’d noticed Annabeth panting and gasping for air. </p><p>Annabeth tried to speak, but words were barely coming out. “Inhaler—boys locker—Percy—” All the girls looked at her like she was some sort of monster in a cheerleading uniform. </p><p>“Does anyone know what she’s going on about?” Rachel asked. The girls laughed back, making Annabeth feel worse. She swallowed, gathering her breath so she could form words again. </p><p>“I just—I think I need a minute,” Annabeth admitted, still panting with her hands on her knew. Her teammates rolled their eyes, but Rachel remained staring at her with her arms crossed. She looked like she felt pity for Annabeth. </p><p>“Take a ten-minute break, we’ll fill you in later,” Rachel told her. Annabeth gave her a slight thumbs up, tumbling over towards the nearest bench outside. </p><p>She finally sat down, placing a hand on her chest. She hoped nobody was looking at her, she already knew her cheeks were bright red. God, this was so embarrassing. She’d be the talk of the cheer team group chat that night, the group chat she wasn’t included in. They didn’t even try to keep it a secret. </p><p>After five minutes, and a crap ton of breathing exercises, Annabeth could slowly catch her breath again. She didn’t have her inhaler, so every inhale she took was sharp, but it was good enough for now. Maybe Rachel would extend her 10-minute break to the rest of practice so she didn’t have to be dealt with. And then after Percy finished basketball he could give her a comforting hug. </p><p>Just as she was imagining Percy’s arms around her, she spotted the boy's basketball team coming outside loudly. "No, not now," Annabeth thought to herself. If Percy saw her sitting out, he’d think something was wrong. Well, something was wrong, but she didn’t wanna worry him. She never liked making him anxious when it came to her asthma, especially since her incident last year. </p><p>When she and Percy were hanging out once, Annabeth had an asthma attack that left her in the hospital for a week. Percy somehow managed to blame it on himself, even though it had nothing to do with him. But it really fucked him up, and he started having frequent panic attacks since then. So now, Annabeth tries not to worry him about her asthma for his sake. She’d rather suffer in silence than have her best friend suffer at all. </p><p>But now he was outside and she was sitting out of cheer practice. She could hear his laugh from the water fountains, he sounded happy. No way she was gonna ruin his mood. She jumped up off the bench, running back towards her practice. Rachel arched her eyebrows at her.<br/>
“You’re ready to come back? It’s barely been five minutes.” Rachel asked, glancing at her apple watch. Annabeth nodded. </p><p>“Yup. I’m ready.” Rachel didn’t believe her of course, but she also didn’t care enough. The practice was more important than Annabeth’s shenanigans. </p><p>“Okay well, we didn’t learn much more since you were out so you can still keep up, hopefully,” Rachel told her. “We’re gonna run the dance again from the top. Sharp movements everyone, the boys are watching.” Rachel smirked, walking over to turn on the music.</p><p>Annabeth looked up, Percy’s eyes already on her. He waved giving her a big grin. Annabeth flashed him a fake smile back, hopefully it was convincing. All of a sudden she felt nervous at the idea of Percy watching her dance. </p><p>He’s seen her dance before, but that was only at basketball games when he was too focused on the score than whatever dance they were doing. Or he’d been in the locker rooms while she performed during halftime. Now she had his whole focus. This wasn’t gonna end well. </p><p>When she first began dancing, she was actually doing pretty well. She didn’t miss any of the moves so far and she assumed she was keeping up with the beat. This was good. They finished the first portion of the choreography, taking a tiny break as the interlude passed. Percy gave her a thumbs up, which made Annabeth smile. </p><p>But she also started to feel dizzy. The adrenaline of her body moving around kept her up for the time being, but now that she planted her feet, her head felt clouded. Her breathing was sporadic again and breathing deeply wasn’t an option. </p><p>They were gonna start dancing soon again, but she couldn’t do it. She felt nauseous. Oh god, she kind of felt like she was gonna throw up. Or pass out. Or maybe both at the same time. "No, not here. Not right. Just do the choreography, you’ll be fine. You’ll be okay," she tried to convince herself, but her body didn’t want to agree. </p><p>“FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT!” Rachel yelled. It left a wringing in Annabeth’s ear.</p><p>And all of a sudden Annabeth’s world went black.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Percy takes care of Annabeth after passing out at practice. All night long Percy worries about his friend and his anxiety drives him to make a terrible decision that might change their friendship forever.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello hi, how r u, welcome to chapter two &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next time Annabeth woke up, she could see a bright light seeping into her eyes. At first, she thought she was in the hospital, but she couldn’t hear the sound of beeping monitor’s around her. No, instead she could just hear, crying? A boy crying? Percy was crying. </p><p>She cleared her throat which felt too dry for her liking. “Percy?” Her voice was hoarse. </p><p>She hadn't noticed before, but his hand was interlocked with her hand. He quickly pulled away when he noticed she was awake. Annabeth quickly tried to sit up, but dizziness overtook her and she groaned, grabbing her head which was now pounding. She realized they were in the school nurse’s office. </p><p>“Hey, hey. Be careful.” Percy said, putting a hand on her back for assistance. He quickly handed her his water bottle. “Drink.” </p><p>Annabeth didn’t resist. She grabbed his bottle quickly, pressing it to her lips, and letting the cold sensation clear her throat. It felt good. He took her inhaler out of his pocket, placing it in her free hand as she still drank. She uncapped her inhaler, taking a few puffs and breathing for a moment. </p><p>“Thanks.” She managed, taking a few more sips of water. Percy rubbed her back again in response. “What happened?” She asked him. </p><p>He started to frown, recalling the even. </p><p>“You passed out while practicing outside.” He reminded her. “Rachel said it was probably due to your asthma.” Annabeth felt really bad now, Percy looked pretty hurt. She should probably be in the hospital right now. </p><p>Everything Annabeth was trying to avoid had happened. She should’ve just sat out and dealt with Percy straight-up. But instead, he had to watch her pass out. That probably really scared him. </p><p>“I didn’t throw up, did I?” Annabeth asked him, not really wanting to know if she did. Percy laughed, looking down at his feet. </p><p>“No. No, you didn’t.” He told her. Annabeth sighed in relief, thank god. She looked back up at her best friend. His eyes were clouded, kind of glossy. His cheeks looked really red. </p><p>“Were you crying?” She asked simply. She already knew the answer, but she was curious as to how he’d respond. </p><p>All Percy did was wipe his eyes, even though it didn’t do much. Annabeth knew he wouldn’t blatantly tell her how he was feeling, most of the time she had to force it out of him. She asked him why he never opened up once, and he said he just didn’t wanna worry her. The same reason why Annabeth never told Percy how she was feeling. They were impossible. </p><p>“How are you feeling.” He asked, changing the subject. Annabeth wanted to fight him on this, maybe even apologize, but he changed the subject for a reason. She decided to leave it alone.</p><p>“Kind of like shit.” She answered, taking another breath. “I feel nauseous. And my head really hurts.” She told him. He frowned. </p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me your asthma was acting up,” Percy asked. She sighed, scrunching up her shoulders. </p><p>“You were in the middle of practice, I didn’t wanna bother you!” She exclaimed, sounding more aggravated than she expected. Percy bit back anger. </p><p>“But your inhaler was in my gym bag, Annabeth,” Percy told her, leaning closer to her body. He looked really mad, but Annabeth could still spot the pain in his eyes. “You need to start telling me what’s going on with you.” His voice broke a little, but Annabeth didn’t care. He was such a hypocrite. </p><p>“I’m not fighting you right now,” Annabeth said, looking away from him. She felt like they were in middle school all over again. The room went quiet for a second. </p><p>“I’m sorry for getting angry,” Percy said, breaking the silence. He grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers. He caressed her thumb. “You know I just care about you.” </p><p>Annabeth’s heart fluttered but suppressed a smile. She wasn’t gonna let Percy win this battle. </p><p>“Is there any Advil around?” She asked, changing the subject. Percy shook his head. </p><p>“The school nurse said you shouldn’t take anything just yet, it could make your asthma worse. I don’t really know how accurate that is, but I guess she didn’t wanna risk anything.” Percy told her. That wasn’t the answer she was expecting. </p><p>“Did Nurse Cindy call my dad?” She asked him. He nodded. “Is he coming?” Percy wanted to say yes, but that wasn’t the truth. Annabeth’s dad said he wanted to avoid the traffic instead of coming to pick up his sick kid. That made Percy’s blood boil. </p><p>“No. He said he was busy.” Percy told her. He didn’t wanna mention the traffic statement, it was kind of fucked up. </p><p>Annabeth looked like she was about to cry. Her dad was never there for her, even in times like this. She hated her home life because at home they didn’t care. If it was one of her twin brothers, her dad would be over in an instant to take care of them. And she didn’t even wanna know what her step-mom’s reaction was. She was just an afterthought. </p><p>“Of course he’s not,” Annabeth said, a tear falling down her cheek. That tugged at Percy’s heart. He squeezed her hand tightly. </p><p>“Hey, hey it’s okay. I can drop you off at home, it’ll be fine.” He explained. She started to wipe her tears. </p><p>“Isn’t Thalia driving you and Nico home again? Like always?” She asked him. He nodded. </p><p>“Yeah, but I told them what happened. Thalia doesn’t mind dropping you off. Plus none of us want you scrambling to find a way to get home.” Percy told her. That made Annabeth cry more. Percy’s family cared more about her than her own. </p><p>“I hate my life,” Annabeth said, beginning to sob. </p><p>Percy simply just hugged her as she cried. There was nothing he could really say to her that’d make her feel better. But he knew his hugs were always enough comfort from him. They stayed there for a moment until she calmed down, taking a few more puffs from her inhaler to steady her breath. If she cried any longer her nausea would overtake her and she would throw up. </p><p>A few minutes later, Nurse Cindy walked in with Thalia and Nico. They both stood in the doorway awkwardly, watching Percy and Annabeth hold each other. </p><p>“Hey, guys,” Percy said, slowly detaching himself from Annabeth. </p><p>“Sup,” Thalia said, blowing her bubblegum. She looked at Annabeth. “You okay?” Annabeth nodded, wiping her tears, but choosing not to speak. </p><p>“She’s fine,” Percy said for her. “Are we leaving now?” He asked his cousins. Nico just stared at him blankly. </p><p>“Yeah, do you have all your stuff?” Thalia responded, twirling the car keys around her finger. </p><p>“Oh, actually I need to get my backpack—” </p><p>“Already got it,” Percy said, interrupting Annabeth. “It’s in the hallway.” She allowed herself to smile for the first time in a while. </p><p>“Okay cool,” Thalia said. “Let’s go, I gotta start my homework.” </p><p>Percy sat in the backseat with Annabeth on the 15-minute ride of her house. He was sat in the middle seat so she could lean her body against him, but only if she wanted to of course. Nobody really spoke for the entirety of the car ride, except for Percy asking Annabeth if she was okay every so often and her nodding in response. She looked pretty pale. </p><p>Percy assumed she was feeling kind of car sick because of her pre-existing nausea. She looked like she wanted to sleep, but the Nurse said it was his job to keep her awake until she was back home with adult supervision, just to make sure she wouldn’t black out again. </p><p>At one point Nico suddenly said, “Annabeth, did you know Percy carried you to the nurse’s office bridal style?” The teens in the back both blushed, neither one wanting to look at others. </p><p>When they arrived, Percy insisted on helping her inside the house, but Annabeth denied his offer. “Are you sure you can walk on your own?” He asked her again, watching her unbuckle her seatbelt.  </p><p>“You’re adorable,” Annabeth said weakly, opening the door. Percy blushed again.“But I can walk on my own, thanks.” </p><p>His eyes followed her all the way to the front door. Percy didn’t trust leaving her alone, especially because he felt the need to take care of her. But he also knew Annabeth could clearly handle herself, so he let her go. </p><p>However, Percy couldn’t help but worry. Seeing her pass out reminded him of the first time she had a huge asthma attack. When the big one happened, she looked pale and weak, and could barely breathe. Percy was so terrified he just stood there, helplessly trying to call an ambulance. Of course, this time around wasn’t so bad, but it still scared him. </p><p>She waved at the car before closing the front door and locking it. The second Annabeth was out of sight, Thalia and Nico turned around to face their cousin. They were making weird faces, Thalia hiding a smile, and Nico taunting him. Percy arched an eyebrow. </p><p> </p><p>“What?” </p><p>“Simp,” Nico said teasingly, laughing to himself. Percy shoved him from the back seat. </p><p>“Oh shut up dickwad.” He said to Nico, but the younger boy kept laughing. “Now come switch with me, I’m sitting in the front now.” The two boys got out of the car to switch. Percy glared at his younger cousin as they crossed paths. </p><p>“I cannot tell a lie,” Nico said, crawling inside the backseat. </p><p>“Nico, you’re saying this as if you don’t act the same way in front of Will,” Thalia said, Percy humming in agreement as he buckled his seatbelt. Nico scoffed. </p><p>“I do not!” He exclaimed, his voice raising an octave higher. </p><p>“Yes, you fucking do, bitch boy.” Percy snickered. “I thought you said you cannot tell a lie-”</p><p>“SHUT UP, PERCY” Nico yelled back, punching his cousin in the arms. The two boys started smacking each other by the hands like it was some sort of cat-fight. Thalia simply rolled her eyes. </p><p>“Cut it out, the both of you!” Thalia shouted. The two boys went quiet instantly. An angry Thalia was never a fun Thalia. “Can we go now?” She asked, still the tone of irritation in her voice. Percy and Nico nodded, not wanting to meet her eyes. </p><p>The rest of the car ride was quiet, both Nico and Percy staring down at their phones while Thalia quietly played the radio. They arrived outside the Jackson house around 5 p.m, filing out of the car one by one. Every Monday it was a tradition that Thalia and Nico stay over for dinner, which is why the trailed behind Percy as he unlocked the front door. </p><p>“We’re home.” Percy declared, throwing the house keys onto the card table beneath the coat rack. The house smelled of boiling pasta. </p><p>“Hello,” Sally Jackson said in a sing-song tone from the kitchen. “How was everyone’s day today.” She asked, still tending to the dinner she was cooking. </p><p>“Eh.” All three teens mumbled under their breath, throwing the backpacks on the floor of the living room and crashing on the couch. Nico reached for the remote to turn on whatever after school special would hold them over until dinner. </p><p>“Percy, how’s Annabeth? You guys get her home okay?” Sally asked, starting to cut up some tomatoes. </p><p>When Annabeth first collapsed and Percy got her to the nurse’s office, he was asked to stay outside and wait for a minute, just to give Annabeth some space. The first person he called was his mom. He wasn’t expecting to cry on the phone with her when he called, but she was so comforting he couldn’t hold back. </p><p>Percy immediately got up from the couch at his mom’s mention of Annabeth. “Yeah, I think she’s okay. I didn’t wanna leave her alone though.” Percy admitted, going into the cabinet to get a glass of water. </p><p>He pondered over what she was doing at home right now, hopefully not passed out on the floor of her living room. Percy swallowed that thought, trying to dismiss it. Worrying wasn’t gonna make him feel any better. </p><p>“I bet she’s fine, honey. I think her step-mom’s home now, we’ve been chatting. She must’ve gotten there just after you guys left. ” Sally told him. That made Percy feel slightly better, but not a lot. </p><p>Maybe he should call her. That was sure to make him feel better. All he needed was to hear her voice, get confirmation that she was fine, even though they departed less than 10 minutes ago. </p><p>“I’m gonna go call her.” He announced, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He started approaching the stairs when his mom stopped him. </p><p> </p><p>“Now wait a minute Percy,” Sally said, holding a hand in the air. “You need to let the poor girl get some rest. Hell, you just dropped her off a few minutes ago.” </p><p>“Yeah Perce, relax. She can handle herself.” Thalia said from the couch, not even bothering to take her eyes off the TV. </p><p>“Yeah I know I— it’s just—” </p><p>“It’s just what, Percy?” Nico said, turning to look at his cousin. “You got a crush or something?” Nico asked teasingly. Percy’s face lost its color for a moment, but then he looked angry. </p><p>“Nico, Nico come on. Play nice.” Sally told him, but she was biting back her own laughter. “But Percy seriously, you’ve gotta calm down. She’s okay, I promise.” </p><p>Percy felt like crying again, but he didn’t know why. His chest just felt heavy. Everything his family was saying was true, but he felt like he couldn’t sit still. Sally could tell he was getting upset by the sad expression masking his face. </p><p>She putting her cutting knife down and held out her arms. “Come here,” She said to her son. Percy sluggish walked across the kitchen and into his mom’s arms. She kissed the top of his messy black hair. </p><p>“Thanks.” He mumbled. His mom rubbed his back comfortingly. </p><p>“Love you, my boy,” Sally said, kissing his head again. “Now, go upstairs, you have homework to get to.” Percy pulled away from the hug. </p><p>“Way to ruin the moment, Mom.” He said, rolling his eyes and walking towards the stairs. Sally gave him a thumbs up, but he didn’t see it because his back was turned away from her. </p><p>“That’s what I’m here for.” She said, wiping her hands so she could tend to dinner again. Percy marched upstairs and into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. </p><p>“Oooh, someone’s grumpy.” Nico chuckled. Sally eyed him intensely. </p><p>“You’re not excused either, Nico.” She told him. “Go to the table and work on your homework. Dinner will be ready in an hour.” Nico groaned, but it was no use arguing with Sally. </p><p>Upstairs, Percy crashed on his bed, landing face-first into the pillow. He felt terrible, and he couldn’t stop thinking about Annabeth. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about Annabeth? She was fine, she had to be fine. But not being with her was so unsettling to him. </p><p>He thought about what they’d be doing right now if he was at her house. First, he’d walk her to the couch and help her lay down, maybe give her a blanket. And then he would get her some water, maybe medicine if she was allowed. They’d turn on Netflix, and he’d cuddle her until she maybe fell asleep on his chest, but only when it was safe. The idea of it made his chest flutter. </p><p>Percy has felt this way about Annabeth before, but he was never able to decipher why. Random days he’d go to sleep thinking about her and get a bunch of butterflies in his stomach. Or sometimes, when he held her hand he would clarify it only was platonic, but his mind told him differently. </p><p> </p><p>One day he could not stop thinking about her to the point where he couldn’t eat. He was so nervous thinking about their relationship that he almost puked eating his breakfast. So he just paced around his room, taking “Am I in Love with My Best Friend” quizzes on Buzzfeed until he went to bed that night. That was a really weird day. </p><p>And of course, he was always the one to make sure she understood all physical contact they made was out of platonic love for one another, but he didn’t even know if that was true. Even still, he didn’t wanna risk ruining her friendship if she didn’t see him romantically at all. So, whenever he felt this way, he just tried to forget about it. </p><p>As he was attempting to do his homework that night, Percy was fighting the urge to call his best friend. But not only because he was worried about her, which he still was, but he also really needed the answers to the Pre-Calc homework. She didn’t give it to him earlier because they were planning on face-timing tonight, just like they did every night. But, due to the current circumstances, that probably wasn’t gonna happen. </p><p>He felt guilty asking her for help, she probably wasn’t too concerned with his Pre-Calc grade right now, but there’s no harm if he just texts her, right? She didn’t have to answer if she didn’t want to, but he really hoped she would. He just wanted to talk to her. </p><p>Percy: Hey </p><p>No response for 5 minutes, not like Percy was constantly checking or anything. It was fine, she was probably just asleep. </p><p>Percy: How r u? </p><p>Percy added. 10 more minutes passed. Whatever, it’s fine. But did he believe that? Because Percy could not stop biting on his pencil for minutes. Now his mouth tasted like led. </p><p>Percy: Are u ok? </p><p>Okay now he was doing too much, but he couldn’t stop worrying. He tried taking a deep breath, but his mind would not stop playing possible disastrous events that might’ve occurred at the Chase household. </p><p> </p><p>What if she had collapsed when they drove away and Annabeth had to be taken to the hospital? And what if she didn’t tell Percy about it? No, that wasn’t possible. But what if it was? Percy was nearly on the verge of panic when he finally heard his phone ding. </p><p> </p><p>Annabeth: Hey. Sorry, I was asleep. I was rlly tired lol. </p><p>Percy sighed in relief, thank god she was okay. </p><p>Percy: ur all good dw.<br/>
Percy: are u feeling any better? </p><p>Annabeth: eh not really </p><p>Percy frowned. </p><p>Percy: what happened? i mean besides the obvious lol</p><p>Annabeth: i threw up :/ so that wasn’t fun. but i took a nap so i guess i kinda feel better. </p><p>Percy: oh i’m sry. glad ur feeling better tho </p><p>Annabeth: yup<br/>
Annabeth: i think im gonna try to go back to sleep tho</p><p>Percy: oh ok </p><p>Annabeth: yah. I’ll talk to u later. Bye, Seaweed Brain! </p><p>Percy: Bye. Feel better. I love you.  </p><p>I love you? Really, Percy? Oh god, he was such a dork. He wanted to jump out the window. He wasn’t thinking about it, he wasn’t even thinking at all. He just hit send impulsively. Why the hell did he do that? They never said those words to each other, not even platonically. He prayed she fell asleep before she saw it, but then she’d wake up to it and that seemed even worse. He threw his phone across the room. It slammed against the wall, creating a loud thud. </p><p>“What the hell was that?” Sally yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Percy lost all the color in his face. If his phone happened to be broken, he was a dead man. He decided not to answer. “Come downstairs, dinners ready.” She declared. Percy took a breath. </p><p>“Alright Percy, just relax,” He said out loud to himself. He grabbed his phone which was lying face down on his carpet floor. When he turned it over, his entire screen was shattered. “Fuck!” He yelled. </p><p>“Perseus, I heard that!” His mom yelled from downstairs. “Now quit playing around and come eat dinner with us tonight.” </p><p>“Uhh, I’m not that hungry.” He told her, starting to panic about his broken phone. But he also wasn’t lying about not being hungry. He had bigger things to worry about than spaghetti and meatballs. </p><p>“Don’t make me count to ten, Percy,” Sally threatened. He could imagine his mom with her hands on her hips at the bottom of the stairs. The image scared him. “ONE—” </p><p>“OKAY, OKAY I’m coming,” Percy interrupted before she could continue. She stopped counting. </p><p>Percy managed to get through dinner without his Mom suspecting something happened to his phone. He left it in his room for the rest of the night, which was probably for the best. He didn’t wanna worry about the text he left for Annabeth, or how she’d respond if she’d respond at all. </p><p>He and his cousins crashed on the couch, watching reruns of Friends out of sheer boredom. Percy probably should’ve been doing his homework, but his homework was upstairs with his phone. He needed to stay as far away from it as possible.</p><p>He hugged a pillow, sitting cross-legged on the couch, biting his nails every so often. Nico, who was sat on the far right of the couch, was nearly asleep and not paying attention to the show. Thalia on the other hand glanced up at Percy constantly as if she was trying to read his expression. </p><p>“You okay?” She asked him suddenly. Percy’s eyes widened, not expecting his cousin to speak to him. He turned his head towards her. “You’re worried about Annabeth, aren’t you?” Thalia continued. Percy scoffed to himself. </p><p>“How could you tell?” He said sarcastically. Thalia rolled her eyes but smiled. </p><p>“You know she’s fine, Percy. You need to stop making yourself so anxious. We both know that’s not good for you.” Thalia told him. Percy sighed, hugging his pillow tighter. </p><p>“Yeah, I know.” He said sadly, chewing at his lip. </p><p> </p><p>Thalia felt kind of bad for her younger cousin. She knew how bad Percy’s anxiety could get, it ran throughout their entire family. They could thank their fathers for that one. The two were quiet for a moment, but then Thalia suddenly got an idea. </p><p>“Annabeth really likes cookies, right?” Thalia asked, watching Percy continue to bite his nails. </p><p>He shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah?” He said, confused as to why she was asking. </p><p>“Why don’t you make her some cookies?” Thalia suggested. She was a fucking genius. </p><p>So, that’s exactly what Percy did. Thalia and Nico left the Jackson house around 9 p.m, leaving Percy alone with his mom. She offered to help him with his special cookies for Annabeth, but Percy insisted on doing it solo. Of course, Sally was hesitant leaving her son alone to a hot oven this late at night, but she could tell how passionate he was about this, so she left it alone. </p><p>He spent the whole night making the cookies, completely forgetting about his homework. Using his mom’s cookbook, he found the recipe for chocolate chip cookies. This wasn’t the first time he’d made cookies for her before, but with his ADHD he could never remember the recipe. </p><p>By the time he finished, it was practically midnight. Normally that’s not how long basic chocolate chip cookies are supposed to take, but he had to start over a few times. He wanted these cookies to be perfect. </p><p>Percy went to bed that night without checking his phone. He’d gotten in a better mood visualizing Annabeth’s reaction to his gift for her and he didn’t wanna ruin the moment. But, that doesn’t mean he didn’t think about her going to sleep. He hugged his pillow as he normally did while falling asleep, but this time around his mind imagined Annabeth in his arms instead.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks for reading &lt;3 leave comments! i'll post more if y'all want more!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello, sorry for not updating but i got a comment so i felt like i should lolol. BUT I AM BACK. OKAY ENJOY CHAPTER 3 ITS A LOT.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sally didn’t have to wake up Percy that morning, he was already up and ready before 7:00 a.m. For some reason, he was really enthusiastic about the day, probably because he was gonna see Annabeth again. He was so lame, it’d only been a day. But still, he was ecstatic. </p><p>“Lovely morning, isn’t it mom?” Percy beamed, kissing his mom on the cheek as he approached her. Sally laughed at her son. </p><p>“Well someone’s in a good mood this morning.” She told him, throwing some snacks into a brown lunch bag. Percy shrugged, grabbing his water bottle from the fridge. </p><p>“I guess I’ve just learned to appreciate mornings,” Percy smirked, obviously that wasn’t the full truth. </p><p>“Who are you and what have you done with my son?” Sally asked sarcastically, handing her son his lunch for the day. Percy scoffed</p><p>“Yeah, whatever.” He said, grabbing all his belongings and walking towards the front door. Thalia and Nico were outside in the car waiting for him. He suddenly stopped in his tracks. “Wait, the cookies—”</p><p>“Already put them in your lunch bag, kiddo,” Sally assured him. Percy sighed, giving his mom another smile. He was about to thank her, but she spoke before he got any words out. “Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome. Now go before you’re late to school, your cousins are waiting.” </p><p>Percy dashed out the front door, falling into the front seat of the car. His cousins mumbled a small ‘good morning’ before Thalia pulled out of her parking space and out of Percy’s neighborhood. </p><p>Percy hadn’t checked his phone yet since last night, he’d still been dreading Annabeth’s response. But on the way to school, he decided it was time to check. However, to his surprise, she still hadn’t said anything. Weird. Maybe she just slept for a long time last night...a very long time. Percy took a deep breath, no need to get worried this early in the morning. She was fine. </p><p>“You make the cookies?” Thalia suddenly asked, breaking the silence in the car. </p><p>“What cookies?” Nico said, looking for whatever cookies his older cousins were speaking of. “Are they for me?” He beamed. Percy rolled his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>“No, you dimwit. They’re for Annabeth.” He announced to the car. “Soft chocolate chip cookies. Exactly how she likes it.” Nico scoffed. </p><p>“Simp—”</p><p>“We’re not doing this again,” Thalia warned, interrupting Nico before he could aggravate Percy an </p><p>They arrived at school around 15 minutes later, parking in Thalia’s normal parking lot. The school wasn’t open yet, so a bunch of students were lounging around, talking to their friends. Percy walked through the crowd, trying to perform a sneak attack on Annabeth, but he couldn’t find her anywhere. He spotted Jason. </p><p>“Hey dude,” Jason greeted. “Who are you looking for?” He asked, watching Percy’s eyes look around the courtyard. Percy sighed. </p><p>“Annabeth. She’s usually here by now.” He frowned, finally meeting eyes with his friend. Jason grabbed Percy’s shoulder. </p><p>“Don’t stress man, she’s probably just late.” Jason tried to assure his friend. Percy nodded, but Jason didn’t know Annabeth like that. Annabeth was never late. </p><p>She didn’t show up for homeroom either. Percy couldn’t keep his eyes off the classroom entrance, hoping Annabeth would walk in any minute. His leg was bouncing. He turned around to face Piper who was sitting directly behind him. </p><p>“Where is she?” He whined, kind of pouting. Piper rolled her eyes. </p><p>“You’re pathetic.” She said to him. Percy’s mouth curled inward. “Besides, Annabeth’s staying home today.” She declared, looking down at her phone. She was what? </p><p>“How do you know?” Percy asked, his leg bouncing faster now. “Is she okay?” Here comes the wave of panic yet again. </p><p>Piper looked up from her phone, flashing Percy an annoyed expression. “Percy, she's sick. She called me late last night so I could bring her classwork afterschool. Did you not text her at all yesterday?” </p><p> </p><p>Well, now Percy felt like shit. She called Piper last night, but not him? And it’s not like he missed her call while he was sleeping or anything, he checked all of his notifications this morning. Plus it’s now confirmed Annabeth did see his message to her and actively chose not to respond. He wanted to just curl up and die now. </p><p>He turned back around to face the front, no longer facing Piper. He looked down at his feet, noticing his lunch bag was slumped over, the cookies kinda falling out of them. He sighed, picking them up and staring at the perfect batch he made with so much passion the night before. Rachel Dare, who’d been sitting next to him, tapped his shoulder. </p><p>“You okay? You look kind of upset.” She said. Percy took another deep breath, still staring at the cookies, but trying to conceal his frown. </p><p>“Yeah, I’m alright.” He said simply. He wasn’t about to project all of his feelings onto Rachel. She looked at his hands. </p><p>“Are those cookies?” She asked. Percy nodded, sighing yet again. </p><p>“Yeah, I made them last night for—” </p><p>“Can I have one?” Rachel interrupted before Percy could continue. He was about to protest, but when he turned to look Rachel in the eyes, he suddenly felt flustered. </p><p>She held her head in her hands, giving Percy a playful smile. Her hair was down today, wavy red curls falling across the front of her face, perfectly framing it. Rachel’s freckles were extra clear today, coating her blushed cheeks. She looked pretty. </p><p>And suddenly, Percy found himself saying yes. </p><p>“Thanks.” She said, grabbing the bag. </p><p>Percy didn’t know what he was thinking, he wasn’t sure he was thinking at all. Those cookies were supposed to be Annabeth’s. Well, an Annabeth who was absent that day, maybe even for the following days too. By the time he saw her again, the cookies would be stale. What harm would it be if Rachel ate them? Annabeth didn’t need to know. </p><p>But Percy still couldn’t help from feeling guilty. Annabeth wasn’t the biggest fan of Rachel, she never has been. She wouldn’t be too happy if she found out Rachel was eating her special cookies. But it was too late now, Rachel was already halfway through the first one. </p><p>“Are they good?” Percy asked with an awkward laugh, trying to start a conversation. Rachel nodded, squinting her eyes as if she was making a decision. </p><p>“Mmm, they’re alright.” She said, making a slightly disgusted face. Damn, that kinda hurt Percy. At least Annabeth wasn’t here to taste them if they were that bad. Rachel watched his face drop to his feet and she started laughing. Percy looked back up at her. </p><p>“What?” He said, arching his eyebrow with a confused smile. </p><p>“I was kidding.” Rachel said, starting to eat the other cookie. “They’re actually really good.” Whew, thank god. If they’d been shit Percy would feel embarrassed for the rest of the day. </p><p>“Don’t scare me like that, Dare,” Percy said, placing a hand on his chest jokingly. Rachel simply smiled back. </p><p>For the rest of the class, Percy couldn’t stop glancing over at Rachel. Something about her was grabbing his attention today, even though she didn’t look any different. Percy always struggled to focus in class, but now his sudden infatuation with Rachel worsened his focus problems. </p><p>She caught him a few times, laughing at his expression. Apparently, he’d been looking at her strangely. Rachel tried teasing him, but Percy could see her cheeks were blushing. For the rest of the period, it turned into an inside joke between them. Percy would catch her looking at him, Rachel would catch him looking at her. Were they flirting? </p><p>They’d laugh each time it happened. It got so extreme to the point where other people were starting to notice. Piper smacked Percy in the head for it once, saying it was distracting everyone in the rows behind him. But Percy didn’t care enough, he distraced himself with Rachel for the rest of the period. </p><p>Rachel and Percy had the rest of their classes together that day, which meant they were practically inseparable until lunch. Since the two of them were already so popular, all eyes watched them as they walked next to each other in the hallways, that was a sight nobody had seen before. Percy was always with Annabeth, Annabeth hated Rachel. Rumors were already stirring. </p><p>At lunch they parted, sitting at their designated tables with their designated friend groups. Neither one of them noticed the looks people had been giving them throughout the day, well not until they spoke to their friends. Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, and Frank all stared at Percy as he ate, each one having a different expression; the girls annoyed, the boys confused. </p><p> </p><p>“Why are you all looking at me?” Percy said, flashing a hopelessly confused expression. The group looked at each other, not saying anything. “You guys gonna speak or—” </p><p>“You and Rachel.” Frank blurted. Percy’s face felt kind of hot. </p><p>“Um, what about it?” He asked, still kind of confused, but slowly putting the dots together. Frank looked at Hazel, not really sure of what to say. </p><p>“You guys are close?” Hazel asked, slightly irritated. They had never been close before. Percy shrugged his shoulders, nodding a little. </p><p>“Since when?” Piper cut in aggressively. She meant it to come off that way. It kind of scared Percy. </p><p>“I don’t know, since this morning,” Percy mumbled, shoving more food into his mouth. Piper looked like she was gonna punch him. </p><p>“Okay so, Annabeth leaves for one day and you’ve already replaced her with another girl,” Piper said, folding her arms. </p><p>‘Ohhh, that’s what this was about,’ Percy thought to himself. He had completely forgotten about Annabeth, and he couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing. All of his friends probably took it in a negative way, but they have no idea how much he’s worried about her these past 24 hours. Now Percy was really angry. </p><p>“I didn’t replace Annabeth. I would never replace Annabeth.” He told the table, trying to tame his anger. “She’s just apparently sick today.” </p><p>“You didn’t even know that until I told you this morning,” Piper added, leaning in closer to Percy. “Did you even try calling her? Or maybe texting her—” </p><p>“Yes Piper, I did.” Percy snapped back. Piper’s expression almost changed, but she held her stern look. He looked down at the table. “I guess she just didn’t wanna talk to me.” </p><p>Everyone looked at him with sympathy, well everyone but Piper. They wanted to apologize, but they didn’t really know what for. All they knew is that Percy was now upset. They should’ve known better than to accuse him of doing something to purposefully hurt his best friend. </p><p> </p><p>The group didn’t speak to one another for the rest of the day. Percy and Jason did say a few words during practice, but there was obvious tension between the two. When Percy got home that night, he didn’t even try texting Annabeth. It wasn’t fair of him to be petty, but then again she wouldn’t talk to him and he couldn’t help from feeling upset. She was sick anyway, and he didn’t wanna put more pressure on her than she needed. </p><p>It was out of character for Percy to do his homework, but he needed to distract himself with something. It was going well so far until he stumbled upon a few Pre-Calc problems google couldn’t even help him solve. Normally he would call Annabeth, but there was nothing normal about these past few days. He only had one only option; Rachel. </p><p>Fuck, he felt weird about that too. Was he being an asshole like his friends were insinuating earlier? He had to have been doing something for them to think that way. But also, Annabeth wouldn’t care that much, would she? It didn’t matter now, all he needed was the homework. </p><p>Percy: hey rachel, sorry to bother you but can u help w/ hw? lol</p><p>She answered almost immediately as if she’d been waiting for him to text her all afternoon. Percy didn’t think much of it. </p><p>Rachel: Hey dude I can totally help. What class?</p><p>Percy: pre-calc  </p><p>Rachel: ohhhh brutal</p><p>Percy: yeah fr hahaha. can u help ?</p><p>Rachel: Yah but it might be hard to explain over text <br/>Rachel: Can we ft??? </p><p>Oh jeez, that was his and Annabeth’s thing. Well, it didn’t have to be their thing for tonight. He just needed help with homework, it wouldn’t take too long. Probably 30 minutes max…</p><p>...Rachel and Percy facetimed for 4 hours. They got so lost in time, they had no idea how late it was getting until darkness crept into Percy’s bedroom. They were doing Pre-Calc at first, but Rachel got distracted showing Percy her painting, and they were giving each other virtual room tours. Rachel made Percy laugh, and vice versa. </p><p> </p><p>He ranted about the whole Annabeth situation to her without bringing up the potential feelings he might have towards his best friend. Rachel didn’t necessarily have a solution for him, but she sure as hell did make him feel better, and that’s all he needed. </p><p>Sally came upstairs to give her son dinner right as the facetime call ended. She eyed her son, noticing his pink cheeks. He’d been smiling a lot. As she was cooking dinner, Sally could hear her son laughing and talking to a girl, but she didn’t sound like Annabeth Chase.  </p><p>“You finish your homework?” Sally asked, placing his dinner plate on his desk. Percy nodded, looking down at his phone and smiling. Sally arched an eyebrow. “Have you been on the phone?” </p><p>Percy nodded again, now looking up at his mom. He didn’t like the expression she was giving him, it resembled his friends’ looks at lunch. His face dropped. </p><p>“Yeah, I was,” He said awkwardly, putting his phone down. He could tell his mom was getting into interrogation mode. Sally put her hands on her hips. </p><p>“I could hear you laughing from downstairs, sounded like you were having a good time,” She said to her son. Percy swallowed thickly. “Annabeth sounded different today.” Percy felt like he was almost sweating through his clothes. </p><p>“Uh, I wasn’t talking to Annabeth,” He declared nervously. Sally crossed her arms. “I was talking to Rachel.” Sally shook her head in confusion. </p><p>“Who’s Rachel?” Sally asked. “I’ve never heard of this, Rachel,” She dragged out Rachel’s name. Percy was starting to get annoyed. </p><p>“She’s just a friend I know from class. She was helping with homework.” He explained. Sally squinted her eyes towards her son. </p><p>“For four hours?” She questioned. Percy shrugged his shoulder dumbfoundedly, he didn’t know what to say. Sally decided to change the subject. “Have you talked to Annabeth today?” </p><p>“No,” Percy said sadly, looking down at his hands. He really missed her. But then he remembered she actively ignored him yesterday and grew angry. But his anger subsided quickly when recalling his last message he sent to her yesterday. He probably scared her off. “She doesn’t wanna talk to me anyway.” </p><p> </p><p>“How do you know that?” Sally asked. </p><p>“Because she’s actively ignored my message and texted Piper instead,” Percy told his mom, his heart stinging as he thought about it. Sally’s expression softened. She walked over to her son, placing a small kiss on his head. </p><p>“She’ll come around,” She told him, scuffing up his already messy hair. Sally walked towards the door. “Now eat your dinner. And take a shower, you still smell from basketball.” </p><p>Percy went to bed that night with both Annabeth and Rachel circling his mind. He wanted to text Annabeth, he really did, but he was too embarrassed. What was he gonna say? Knowing Annabeth she’d taunt him about that “I love you” forever. And if one day she asked him if he meant it, he didn’t know if he’d be able to say no. </p><p>But now all of a sudden he was friends with Rachel. And he wasn’t replacing Annabeth, he would never do that. But he got this strange feeling with Rachel that he couldn’t quite recognize. He constantly blushed looking at her smile, or even thinking about it. Yet still, it wasn’t the same feeling he had for Annabeth. </p><p>Maybe he was actually starting to like Rachel? And not in a friendly way but maybe in a, I might wanna date you way. The idea of their relationship was already such a cliche: he was captain of the basketball team, she was cheer captain. Annabeth was the girl on the bleachers. It was right out of a Taylor Swift song. </p><p>Then again, he’d only been talking to Rachel for a day, there was no way of knowing. This whole thing was probably just getting to his head, he didn’t even know if Rachel possibly liked him back. Once Annabeth returned to scho, everything should go back to normal. Well, if they both chose to ignore Percy’s impulsive text. </p><p>The next morning, Percy approached Piper to ask how Annabeth was doing since he pussied out of texting her last night. But when Piper saw him, she already looked like she wanted to kill him. </p><p>“What did I do now?” Percy whined, looking at an angry Piper. </p><p>“You facetimed Rachel last night?” Piper asked rhetorically. Percy froze. </p><p>“How the hell do you know that?” He asked, slightly aggravated, but more confused. Piper rolled her eyes, folding her arms inward. </p><p> </p><p>“I could hear Rachel’s friend talking about it in Starbucks this morning,” Piper explained. “Those girls are much louder than they think they are,” She said, taking a sip of her coffee. Wow, Percy didn’t expect Rachel to be talking to her friends about him. </p><p>“Look, she was just helping me with homework,” Percy told her, putting his hands up in the air.</p><p>“For four hours?” Piper glared. </p><p>“Damn, you know everything,” Percy whispered under his breath. Piper simply rolled her eyes again. Percy sighed. “How’s Annabeth?” He asked softly, changing the subject. Piper took another sip of her coffee. </p><p>“She’s still sick. My guess is she’ll be out the rest of the week.” Percy frowned, looking down at his feet. For the rest of the week? Maybe he should go visit her. “And don’t even think about visiting her, Jackson,” Piper added as if she’d been reading his thoughts.  </p><p>The bell interrupted their conversation, forcing them inside their homeroom classroom. Percy and Rachel greeted each other with a simple ‘hi’ as other students watched them interact. Percy felt like some sort of celebrity with all the eyes on him throughout the morning. </p><p>The rest of the day and the day after that resembled Tuesday, except his friends weren’t as weird towards him. I think they were starting to accept Rachel and Percy’s friendship though it still did seem suspicious. </p><p>Constantly people were coming up to both Percy and Rachel, asking them individually if they were a couple. They both said no obviously, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t think about it. Again, they were the perfect cliche. After school at basketball on Thursday, Jason thought it was time to confront Percy about what was really going on. </p><p>“So you and Rachel…” Jason started, and Percy automatically rolled his eyes playfully. “Look I’m not here to interrogate you like everyone else, but I just have some questions.”  </p><p>Percy sighed. “Bring it on, I guess.” Jason collected his thoughts, then began. </p><p>“So do you not have a crush on Annabeth?” Jason asked blatantly. Percy’s face went red, he suddenly felt nervous. He must’ve been really obvious. </p><p>“W—What do you—I—” Percy stumbled over his words, not really knowing what to say. </p><p> </p><p>“Relax, relax.” He said, putting a hand on his friend. “We just all thought you did like her, but now that you’re talking to Rachel...I don’t know we’re all just confused.” Percy arched an eyebrow, trying to calm his nerves. </p><p>“Who’s we?” He said, sounding like he was out of breath. </p><p>“We—Like the group ‘we’,” Jason explained. “But hey, if you like Rachel, that’s cool too.” He continued. </p><p>Percy was yet again unable to comprehend how he was feeling. Did he like Rachel? He still didn’t know. It just had been too early to determine. But the idea of maybe going on a date with her sounded nice. It made him less nervous than the idea of going out with Annabeth. </p><p>Was that a good thing? Percy wanted to think so. Forever, he assumed his best friend never reciprocated the same feelings he had for her. And his assumption was practically proven true by her response to him saying “I love you”. Or her non-response Percy should say. Maybe it was time he moved on from whatever weird crush he had on her. </p><p>“I don’t know how I feel,” Percy admitted to Jason, still being unable to make eye contact. “Rachel does seem cool.” Jason gave him a smirk. </p><p>“Cool in a friend way or—”</p><p>“Cool in a maybe I wanna ask her out way, '' Percy blurted. Jason was biting back a laugh. </p><p>“Then you should ask her out. You know everyone in this school is rooting for you guys.” Jason told Percy. “Plus I don’t think Rachel would be very surprised by it. Word on the street is she might have a crush on you too.” </p><p>That made Percy’s heart flutter and he smiled to himself bashfully. Then, he suddenly got an idea. </p><p>“Winter formal is coming up soon, yeah?” Percy asked.  Jason nodded in response. “I should ask her out to that.” Percy felt like such a genius. </p><p>“That’s a good plan, but when are you gonna do it? Winter formal is in a week, and you shouldn’t ask a girl like the day before. I learned that the hard way.” Jason said.</p><p> </p><p>Percy remembered last year when Jason asked Piper to the dance when she hadn’t planned on going at all. She was so angry he asked her so late because she didn’t even have a dress, or tickets, or any form of transportation. Neither did Jason, which he foolishly didn’t think through. The couple got to the dance just fine, but Piper still held the situation against him. </p><p>“I guess I’ll just have to ask her tomorrow!” Percy exclaimed, kind of getting excited about it. </p><p>“Okay well, how are you gonna do it?” Jason questioned. Percy kinda shrunk into himself. He wasn't thinking that far ahead. </p><p>“I don’t know, but you’re gonna help me,” Percy told him. Jason arched an eyebrow. </p><p>“I am?” He asked nervously. Percy nodded excitedly. </p><p>“Yeah, after school today. We gotta come up with an elaborate plan. I’ll tell Thalia and Nico you’re taking me home.” Percy told Jason. I guess Jason didn’t really have a say in this plan. “This is gonna be so great dude.” </p><p>After school, Percy and Jason created this miraculous plan to get Rachel to say yes to the Winter Dance. At their school, whoever made the best proposal would win free tickets to the dance, and Percy was determined to get those tickets. He wanted the proposal to be loud and elaborate but made sure not to embarrass Rachel in doing so.</p><p> Sometimes his mind would force him to think about Annabeth’s reaction. What the hell was she gonna say when she found out he was taking Rachel of all people to the dance? They’d gone to every dance together since middle school, only as friends of course. But now, they were juniors, it was time for them to move onto bigger things. More romantic things. </p><p>The next morning, Percy woke up excited. Today was the day. The day he was finally gonna ask Rachel out. The day he was finally gonna get over Annabeth. He refrained from telling his mom because he knew she’d argue against it. He didn’t need that right now, he was determined to do this. </p><p>He was already smiling as he crawled into Thalia’s car, Nico and Thalia being extremely confused. Percy’s emotions had been all over the place this week.</p><p> Rounding the corner towards the school parking lot made him even more excited. He jumped out of the car, ready to greet whoever was there to speak to him. He swore nothing could ruin his day. </p><p>But then he saw Annabeth. </p><p>They met each other’s gaze and Percy felt like he’d been stabbed in the stomach. Fuck, this wasn’t happening. Piper said she was gonna be home for the rest of the week. Ugh, what did Piper know? Was she just saying that to mess with Percy and witness his inevitable downfall? No, there was no way she knew Percy was gonna ask Rachel out. But then again, Piper was always one step ahead. </p><p>Annabeth gave him a shy, but slightly awkward smile and waved. He took a deep breath before walking towards her. Everyone in the courtyard could feel the tension radiating off of him. </p><p>“Uh, hey,” He said delicately, not knowing if he should hug her or not. He decided against it. <br/>“I thought Piper said you weren’t coming back this week,” Annabeth nodded. </p><p>“Well I wasn’t supposed to, but I thought if I missed basically an entire week of school I’d be miserable making up all my assignments,” She said, forcing a laugh. Percy’s heart suddenly melted, he missed hearing her voice more than he thought. “Anyways I wanted to talk—”</p><p>The bell suddenly rang, thank god. They watched the other students in the courtyard file inside the school, then looked back at each other. </p><p>“The bell—” Percy began. “We should probably—” </p><p>“Yeah we probably should,” Annabeth added. Percy flashed her a fake smile, then slowly disappeared into the crowd of students. </p><p>He avoided her for the rest of the day. I guess his guilty conscience was suddenly catching up with him now that he saw Annabeth again. She was gonna be here when he asked out Rachel, and she didn’t even know it was happening. But he couldn’t back out now, everyone was counting on him. He really didn’t think this plan through. </p><p>Every time Annabeth or Rachel tried to approach Percy, he just dismissed them. This was too fucked up a situation to confront either one. Well, until he had to ask Rachel out after school. He didn’t even eat lunch with his friends, or at all. Annabeth was starting to get worried.</p><p> </p><p>She finally caught him alone at the end of the day while he was grabbing his books from his locker. She didn’t know why he was being so weird, but Annabeth needed to talk to him. </p><p>“Hey,” She approached him gently, trying not to startle him. She wasn’t gonna let Percy get away from her again. “Can we talk?” Percy already felt like crying for her. This was a terrible day. </p><p>“Sure, what about?” He was trying to play dumb. Annabeth arched an eyebrow, opening her mouth to speak, but Percy interrupted her. “How are you feeling by the way?” Annabeth shrugged her shoulders.</p><p>“I’m fine,” She said quickly. “Anyways I wanted to—” </p><p>“Did Piper end up giving you all the assignments you missed?” Percy said, trying to avoid Annabeth’s confrontation as much as possible. </p><p>“Yeah she did but—” </p><p>“That’s great, that’s great. I’m glad you had her to talk to this week,” Percy said sarcastically. He was kind of taking a jab at his best friend now. He’d been waiting to get his irritation out. </p><p>“Percy—” </p><p>He pulls his phone out of his pocket, checking to see if it had been time for his surprise proposal yet. Annabeth noticed his shattered screen.</p><p>“What happened to your phone.” Percy kind of froze, but put his phone in his back pocket. </p><p>“Nothing. I just dropped it on accident.” He told her. Annabeth stared at him blankly. “You don’t believe me, do you?” Annabeth shook her head </p><p>“No not really,” She admitted to her best friend. “Ok but anyways—”</p><p>“Hey, Percy!” Jason approached the two in the hallway, not noticing he was interrupting the moment. Annabeth glared at the taller blonde. “Sorry, am I interrupting something?” </p><p>“Nope, not all,” Percy said, slamming his locker shut. He turned towards a helpless Annabeth. “Sorry Annabeth, but I gotta get somewhere so, call me later maybe?” Percy dashed down the hallway. Annabeth felt like crying. </p><p>“Wait, where are you going?” She asked, trying to contain her emotions. She groaned, rolling her eyes. Her first day back at school was going terribly. She chased the two boys down the hallway. </p><p>She found them and a large crowd of people outside near the outdoor basketball courts. They were all gathered in a U shape, holding their phones up and squealing with excitement. Annabeth crawled through the wave of people, looking for people she knew. She finally spotted Piper. </p><p>“Pipes!” Annabeth exclaimed, grabbing her friend’s arm. “What’s going on right now?” Piper just shrugged her shoulders. They looked around, trying to decode the situation, but they were helpless. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly Piper spotted Rachel being pushed towards the middle of the semi-circle and understood what was going on. If her speculations were right, this situation wasn’t gonna end well. Unfortunately, she was correct, like always, and saw Percy holding a bouquet of flowers with the cheer team chanting some inaudible chant. </p><p>“Oh, you have got to be shitting me right now,” Piper groaned. Annabeth flashed her a confused, but a concerned expression. </p><p>“Piper, what’s happening?” Annabeth asked cluelessly. Piper’s heart almost broke for the girl. She would find out soon enough. </p><p>Just as Annabeth was gonna ask again, she saw her best friend walk towards Rachel, handing her the bouquet of flowers. No way this was happening right now. He was not asking Rachel of all people to the Winter Dance. The same Winter Dance he and Annabeth went to every year. </p><p>She could read his lips. “Will you go to formal with me?” And all Rachel did was nod back excitedly. The crowd of students applauded, watching Rachel and Percy hug tightly. Percy didn’t hug Annabeth today. He didn’t even talk to her, and this was why. </p><p>This was the worst day of Annabeth’s life.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thanks for reading &lt;3 comments are always encouraging!! let me know how u feel about the story</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Annabeth and Piper just go to the boys' basketball games, what could go wrong? So, so much.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello new readers, thanks for coming :) appreciate the love + comments. enjoy this next chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Annabeth hated herself for crying for the rest of the day. She already went to school with a pounding headache in the morning, and it only got worse as the day progressed. She just wanted to swallow an entire bottle of Advil. </p><p>There was so much to unpack about the day, Annabeth didn’t even know where to start. First, Percy completely dismissed her during the morning, which she tried to excuse. But then, he didn’t speak to her throughout the day, he even avoided eating lunch; she knew damn well that was because of her too. And then he ignores her at his locker which is so unlike him. But it all made sense when she went outside to see what he did for Rachel. </p><p>Rachel. Fucking Rachel. She was so angry she wanted to punch him. Or maybe even kill him. But all she could do was cry, and she cried so much. Her tears stung like they never had before. Never in a million years did she think her best friend would do anything remotely close to this. A lot must’ve happened while she was gone. </p><p>Her face was buried in her pillow for hours up until she heard her phone ringing. It better have not been Percy or else she might just throw her phone across the room. She slowly grabbed it off of her bedside table, looking at the Caller ID. It was Piper, THANK GOD.  The brightness on the cellphone stung her eyes, making her head pound. She put the call on speaker so she didn’t have to move any further. </p><p>“Hello?” She croaked, her voice very hoarse. </p><p>“Fuck, you sound terrible.” Piper gasped through the phone. Annabeth felt terrible. Her eyes were so puffy, her hair was all over the place, and she was so warm she had to be running a fever. </p><p>“Thanks Pipes,” Annabeth replied, sinking down into her bed. </p><p>“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.” Piper apologized. Annabeth sighed. </p><p>“No it’s okay, I already feel like shit anyways. It can’t get worse than this.” She was truly at her lowest point. </p><p>“You’re really doing that bad, huh?” Piper asked. “Do I need to come over and feed you strawberries?” Piper joked, which made Annabeth genuinely laugh for the first time that day. </p><p>Annabeth never wanted to consider Piper a back up best friend, because that didn’t seem fair, but she was definitely some kind of best friend nonetheless. They first met only 3 years ago since they went to rival middle school, and they didn’t even start talking until sophomore year. But somehow, they grew close really fast. Piper was the girl best friend Annabeth never had growing up. </p><p>“But I’m serious babe, if you need me to come over, I’ll get in my car right now,” Piper said sincerely. That made Annabeth smile. </p><p>She sighed to herself. “Thanks, Pipes, but my parents wouldn’t like that because I’m technically still sick. And you’re not Percy, so they wouldn’t excuse it.” Saying his name made her throat feel dry. Silence fell over the conversation. </p><p>“I can’t believe he did that to you,” Piper said coldly. She always had resentment for Percy Jackson, but this situation made it so much worse. </p><p>“Yeah me either,” Annabeth said, her voice sounded tight and it was clear she was growing uncomfortable. She didn’t feel like talking anymore. “Actually, my dads calling me right so I gotta go...”</p><p>“Annabeth wait—” </p><p>Then Annabeth hung up. God this was a nightmare. She wanted the day to be over more than anything. </p><p>At least it was the weekend and she wouldn’t have to face her problems immediately, but she was already heavily dreading Monday. Plus, with Winter Formal decorations coating the entirety of the school, there was no forgetting what she witnessed after school today. </p><p>She didn’t even know if Percy was gonna say anything, and she didn’t know if she wanted him to. Annabeth should’ve hated him. She wanted to punch him, kick him in the balls, verbally curse him out until he cried. But if she was being honest, she wanted a hug from him more. </p><p>Skip forward to a week later, it was the annual Thursday night Winter Formal basketball game. Annabeth would rather avoid watching Percy play an entire game of basketball for like an hour and a half, but Piper dragged her there anyway. </p><p>“Come on Annabeth, the entire school is going!” Piper whined, tugging at her friend's arm. They were standing in front of Annabeth’s locker. “We can go to the game, watch the boys play for a bit, and then you can come sleepover at my place.” </p><p>“You know my parents won’t let me have a sleepover on a school night,” Annabeth replied. </p><p>“Fine, I’ll just drop you off at home,” Piper said, feeling kind of bummed. </p><p>“Well, what if I have homework? Or a test?” The blonde asked. </p><p>“Annabeth, I’m in all of your classes. You don’t.” Piper responded. </p><p>Annabeth rolled her eyes, she was finally defeated. </p><p>“Well, I just don’t wanna see Percy, okay? Is that a valid enough excuse for you?” She said, looking at her friend dead in the eye. </p><p>Annabeth had been avoiding him all week. They spoke maybe three times, and every night he’d ask her for help on whatever homework they had. Annabeth wanted to snap back and say something witty about Rachel helping him instead, but she didn’t. She just sent him her entire finished homework and didn’t even attempt to call him. She didn’t care anymore. Well, she didn’t want to care at least. </p><p>Plus, it’s not like Percy made an effort to speak to her anyway. If he truly had the audacity to be hurt by any treatment she was giving him this week, he should have the balls to say something. But of course, he never did, so Annabeth took that as a sign that he didn’t care. </p><p>“Annie, you’re never gonna get over this if you don’t at least try to carry on with things like normal,” Piper demanded. Annabeth arched an eyebrow. </p><p>“Did you just call me Annie?” Annabeth huffed, suppressing a laugh. Piper chuckled a little, scrunching her nose. </p><p>“I don’t know why I did, it just slipped out.” They shared a laugh quickly before Piper continued with the conversation. “But seriously please, can you go. We don’t even have to pay attention!” She said, tugging at her friend's arm even harder. </p><p>“What’s the point of going if we won’t even pay attention?” Annabeth asked, sincerely confused. </p><p>“Nobody pays attention at basketball games,” Piper replied like that answer should’ve been obvious to Annabeth. It clearly wasn’t. </p><p>“Well, I would always watch Percy—”</p><p>“Then don’t this time,” Piper said softly. “We can just get junk food and talk. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I promise.” Annabeth contemplated the offer for a second, then nodded. </p><p>“Fine. You’re gonna tell me everything that happened while I was gone last week.” </p><p>So later that night, the entire gang ventured to the basketball game. Frank and Hazel drove together straight from their theatre rehearsal, and Jason and Percy were already at the game early of course. Piper was tasked with bringing Leo along with her and Annabeth. The car ride on the way there was really awkward. </p><p>“So Leo,” Piper started, breaking the long silence. “What do you think about this whole Percy situation.” Leo nearly choked on his own spit from the back seat. </p><p>“Uh, what-”</p><p>“Piper, don’t,” Annabeth demanded, staring down at her best friend. Piper sunk back into her chair, gripping her hands tightly on the wheel. </p><p>“I was just trying to start a conversation,” Piper grumbled. </p><p>They arrived at the game just on time, Leo immediately heading over to his own classmates. Sure he hung out with Piper, Annabeth, and the rest of the gang majority of the time since he was in their classes due to his insanely smart brain, but he was still a sophomore nonetheless. </p><p>Piper and Annabeth squeezed in between a crowd of girls decorated in their school colors. They’d been dressed in pretty white skirts and orange makeup to represent their school mascot the Pegasi. Annabeth and Piper stood out in their bland blue jeans and cozy sweaters from the gap. I guess they didn’t get the memo. </p><p>The two looked out on the court, instantly spotting Jason and Percy warming up. Annabeth’s heart couldn’t help but flutter when she watched Percy dribble up to the hoop for a layup. He always looked so focused, it was kind of adorable. But she quickly looked away, there was no room for those nonsense feelings anymore. </p><p>Then she spotted her cheer team, well ex-cheer team. She chose to quit at school on Monday because showing up for practice now that Rachel was apparently dating her best friend sounded like an anxiety attack waiting to happen. She wanted to throw up just thinking about it. But the girls clearly didn’t seem affected by her leaving, they looked like they were having fun. </p><p>Whatever, she didn’t need them anyway. </p><p>“Crazy you’re not on the cheer team anymore, right?” Piper said, noticing her blonde friend looking upon the court sadly. “Maybe that’s for the best. You hated it anyways.” Annabeth didn’t respond. Piper realized her attempt to make her friend feel better was failing. </p><p>“Can you tell me what happened last week?” Annabeth said, still not tearing her eyes off the court. Piper frowned. </p><p>“Annabeth I don’t know if that’s a good idea—”</p><p>“Tell me.” She repeated eagerly, finally looking at her friend. “You promised.” </p><p>Piper wanted to protest, to tell Annabeth that everything that happened last week should stay in the past. But everyone had been keeping Annabeth in the dark for the past week, and it was only fair that someone tells her, especially someone as close to her as Piper. She made a promise, and she wasn’t going to break it. </p><p>So, when the first quarter of the game began, Piper told Annabeth everything she knew. Percy talking to Rachel, the entire facetiming ordeal she heard about in Starbucks, the cookies, and Percy’s overall weird behavior throughout the week </p><p>And Piper, being the opinionated person she was, had a lot to say about the situation. Without realizing it, Piper managed to ramble all throughout the first half of the game, but Annabeth checked out when she received all the information she needed to know. </p><p>After Piper finished making her personal comments, she looked at her blonde friend who’d been simply staring at her shoes. She could tell Annabeth was trying to conceal her emotion, it was all on the way she was breathing. Piper frowned, trying to search for words possibly helpful words to share. </p><p>“I wish I wasn’t the one who had to tell you this, and I know this really sucks. And I know you’re probably not going to want to hear this right now,” Piper began rambling again. “But try not to blame Rachel for any of this, okay?” Annabeth didn’t respond, she only kept breathing deeply. If Piper was seeing correctly, she could see Annabeth’s eyes tearing up. </p><p>“And look I know you’re not the biggest fan of her, but Percy is the one who made this mess. So if you’re gonna be mad at someone, be mad at him.” Again, Annabeth didn’t respond. Piper just assumed Annabeth was processing everything, but her silence was deafening. </p><p>But as time progressed, Piper started to think something was actually wrong, and Annabeth wasn’t just upset about everything Piper poured onto her. She watched as her friend's breathing advanced, growing heavier with each breath. And now it sounded sharp, that couldn’t be good. </p><p>“Oh god—” Annabeth inhaled sharply, grabbing onto her chest. A wave of panic washed over Piper, watching her friend's chest inflate up and down rapidly. Annabeth swallowed, turning towards Piper, her eyes were filled to the brim with tears. “I think I’m having an asthma attack.” </p><p>Piper didn’t really know how to react. She thought about grabbing her friend's arm for comfort, but that might make it worse. “What should I do??? Do you have your inhaler?? Do I need to go buy one???” </p><p>“Yes I have it,” Annabeth said, her voice tight. She grabbed the inhaler out of her back pocket, but her hands were shaking so bad she couldn’t manage to get the cap off. “Can you just take me outside??” Annabeth said. She sounded really panicked, almost like she was about to throw up. </p><p>So, Piper did as she was asked and quickly, but safely, guided Annabeth out of the student section towards the empty school hallway. Luckily the exit doors had been just down the hall so they made it outside quickly. </p><p>Annabeth fumbled onto the closest bench she could find, her breathing getting worse and worse. Piper finally had the opportunity to help her uncap the inhaler. If they couldn’t get it off right then and there, Annabeth probably would’ve passed out. </p><p>She took a few hits in intervals, not daring to speak just incase that’d make it flare up again. It took about ten minutes for her to fully catch her breath, Piper watching Annabeth closely for all ten of those minutes; she had to be ready for anything. She’d heard about Annabeth’s asthma attacks but had never seen one play out in real-time. It was scarier than she imagined. </p><p>“You okay?” Piper asked cautiously, stepping towards her friend. Annabeth swallowed, contemplating her answer, then nodded. She took another hit of the inhaler. </p><p>“Do you think everyone saw?” Annabeth asked, still trying to steady her breath as she spoke. Her voice was hoarse. </p><p>“Probably,” Piper admitted, crossing her arms over her chest. “We kinda made a big scene. I almost tripped over some freshman’s bag like twice.” She laughed. Annabeth would have laughed with her, but she was too out of breath to even force one. </p><p>“Sorry about that,” Annabeth murmured under her breath. She genuinely felt bad, she’d done nothing but cause issues these past two weeks. “That was probably really dramatic.” Annabeth sighed. </p><p>“You couldn’t help it, why are you apologizing? I doubt anyone is going to condemn you for having an asthma attack,” Piper reassured her, but the blonde couldn’t help but feel like a burden. “Do you know what triggered it? The asthma attack, I mean.” Piper continued. </p><p>Annabeth hesitated before responding. “I usually have an asthma attack if I get too overwhelmed or stressed,” She started. Annabeth bit her suddenly quivering lip, looking down at her feet. She took a shaky breath. “Especially when I hear shitty news.” She whispered, but Piper could still understand her clearly. Piper shook her head as if she’d been guilty. </p><p>“I shouldn’t have told you,” Piper said. Annabeth looked up, giving her friend a forgiving smile though her eyes brimmed with developing tears. Piper stepped closer to her friend, kneeling down in front of her. She put a comforting hand on Annabeth’s knee. “I’m sorry.” Annabeth wiped the drop of water that’d fallen across her blushed cheeks, shaking her head. </p><p>“No, I’m glad you told me. Better you than anyone else, right?” Annabeth said with a forced laugh. Piper tried to smile back, but it was clear she still felt really bad. I guess both girls were feeling really poorly about themselves that day. </p><p>They sat in silence for a few moments until Annabeth cleared her throat and groaned, it felt really dry. Piper was quick to respond. </p><p>“I’ll go get you some water, okay?” Piper said, standing up from her crouching position. She was ready to turn and leave but paused. “Unless you don’t wanna be left alone, because I don’t wanna risk you having another attack when I’m gone—” </p><p>“Piper,” Annabeth said reaching her hand out in an attempt to calm her friend down. “I’ll be fine. And thank you for buying me water. I promise I’ll pay you back.” And when that, Piper jogged inside. </p><p>What the two didn’t realize was that halftime had approached, meaning the entire student body would be crowding the hallways and snack bar lines. Terrible timing on Piper and Annabeth’s part, but there was no way of knowing.</p><p>For a moment Annabeth thought she was out of the clear since no one bothered to come outside which was nice, she was happy to be alone. She was enjoying herself for once. </p><p>She looked at her black converse, noticing all the little doodles she created on them throughout the years. A few flowers, her friend's names, a few smiley faces, and whatever creative things came to her mind during class. They made her smile. </p><p>But soon her smile faded out the loud sound of the push door handles swinging the gymnasium doors open, a familiar voice following after. Oh, fuck everything. </p><p>“Annabeth?” The voice belonged to none other than Percy Jackson. He was drenched in the sweat that covered his wrinkled basketball uniform, his cheeks blushing brightly as well. He looked tired, but he looked good. Damn, he looked really good. “What happened? Is everything okay?” His voice sounded so soft and sweet. </p><p>Percy crouched down in the same kneeling position Piper had been in. For the first time that week, Annabeth properly looked at Percy. When they met eyes, Annabeth as if felt her chest was opening and she was breathing again for the first time in a long time. Like she’d been in a chokehold for an entire week and the hand around her neck finally let go. She could’ve fainted right then and there. </p><p>She didn’t know if it was her teary eyes, or maybe the lighting but Percy’s eyes looked like they were sparkling. She felt so stupid, but her mind was running at a million miles per minute. Why was it when he was treating her like shit she’s drawn to him more? He poured so much bullshit onto her for the past two weeks almost, but the moment he asked if she was okay she started melting.</p><p>“I—” She couldn’t find words, but she didn’t need to. Percy interrupted her before she could continue. That was nothing new. </p><p>“What happened,” He began, moving in closer. Annabeth felt herself shrink. </p><p>She wanted nothing more than his comfort. She wanted him to touch her, hug, maybe even hold hands like they always did. No, just the thought of that made her more confused. Annabeth looked him in the eyes again, feeling suddenly nervous. </p><p>“Percy we really shouldn’t…” Annabeth said, trying to walk away as fast as she could, but Percy grabbed her hand. Not tightly, but firmly, just as she wished for, but now she wishes she hadn’t. </p><p>His hands were warm. She felt a sense of comfort wash over her. Or was she getting overwhelmed? It was hard to tell. But either way, she was now feeling extremely dizzy, she shouldn’t have gotten up so fast. </p><p>They didn’t unlatch hands for a while, something about the touch just felt so comfortable. But Annabeth had to pull away because if she kept contact any longer, her anger towards him would subside completely. She was supposed to be mad at Percy, not melting at his touch. </p><p>When she let go, the boy blushed from embarrassment, putting his hands behind his back and far away from his best friend. Neither one spoke up, because neither knew what to say. The energy was too tense for words. But they didn’t have to speak anyway because another loud interruption came bursting through the double doors. </p><p>“Percy!” A redheaded girl exclaimed from the door a few feet away. “Where have you been, the whole teams looking for you?” She said, walking closer to the two.</p><p> Annabeth was already growing annoyed just looking at the other girl in her tight cheerleading uniform, but she tried to remember what Piper said earlier: none of this was Rachel’s fault. </p><p>Percy didn’t have a response, only continuing to look back and forth between the two ladies on his side. It was just as awkward of a moment as he visualized in his nightmares. Annabeth couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, trying to look away from the couple as much as she could. </p><p>“Hey Rachel,” He greeted her nervously. Percy looked as if he swallowed a bug. “I’ll be in in a minute, I just need to um…” He was trying to form his words currently. Suddenly Rachel gasped. </p><p>“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. Am I interrupting something?” She said, sinking into her body with guilt. Rachel seemed so genuine about it that it made Annabeth’s head spiral in shock. She seemed, nice? “I’ll just go wait inside for you. Sorry again.” Then she trotted away and out of Annabeth’s sight. </p><p>Finally, The two best friends were left standing face to face, neither one knowing who should speak first. Then Annabeth cleared her throat. </p><p>“You needed to say something?” Annabeth asked, crossing her arms. Her voice cracked a little, it still felt unnatural talking to him. Percy took a deep breath. </p><p>“Are you okay? I saw you leave the gym and it looked like you were crying so... well and I—I, well I just—” </p><p>“You wanted to what, Percy? Spit it out.” Annabeth’s tone was hostile, almost like she was ready to cuss him out. Percy swallowed in fear. </p><p>“I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you were feeling okay—”</p><p>“Since when did you care?” Annabeth scoffed.</p><p>“W—what?” Percy asked, baffled. Was he on some sort of prank camera show or something? “Annabeth I’m just trying to talk but you keep cutting me off—”</p><p>“Wow, you’re one to talk.” She cut in quietly. He was unbelievable. </p><p>“What is going on with you?” Percy was getting agitated now. The energy between the two was so tense both of them were on the verge of exploding. </p><p>“No, what’s going on with you.” Annabeth stepped closer towards him. “Rachel? Really?” Percy’s face dropped, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away. </p><p>“Annabeth—”</p><p>“You didn’t even tell me.” She whispered, her voice breaking. Tears began to roll down her face. She waited for a response, but Percy was unable to form words. “And then you don’t even speak to me this entire week. Texting me just for homework while you’re occupying yourself with a girl you just talked to last week? What am I to you, just an afterthought?” </p><p>“No, of course not—"</p><p>“Then why aren’t you talking to me!” Annabeth was practically yelling at this point. The two moved closer towards each other without realizing. They were nose to nose. Breath to breath. They both fought the urge to look at each other lips. This situation could go in so many different directions. </p><p>Annabeth had to calm her breathing before she went into full asthma attack mode, she was already feeling lightheaded again. The blonde wiped her eyes. Again, Percy had nothing to say, making Annabeth think she poured too much onto him at one time. But even so, he needed to hear it. He needed to know how much he hurt her and let that haunt his guilty conscience as he went to sleep. Percy thought for a moment, still looking unsure of what to say, but when he finally worked up the courage to open his mouth:</p><p>“Percy, come on, halftime is over soon” They heard Rachel yell from inside the building, but Percy still kept his eyes on the girl in front of him. </p><p>Annabeth glanced towards Rachel’s direction, getting a glimpse of her irritated face. The blonde stepped back from Percy, wiping more tears that’d spilled onto her cheeks. </p><p>“Your girlfriend’s calling.” She said coldly. Her throat was so dry from raising her voice, she’d need to swallow gallons of water to recover from this. She turned to walk away, but then realized she had one more thing to say to him. “And oh yeah, I had an asthma attack, since you were so curious.” </p><p>Then with that, she walked away towards the parking lot, leaving him standing there alone. Why she was walking towards the parking lot though she had no intent to go there in the first place? She didn’t know. But she had to get as far away from Percy as possible, and Piper’s car was probably the safest place to be. Annabeth wanted nothing more than to go home. </p><p>When she reached Piper’s white tesla, the car was of course locked. Great, she was freezing cold standing outside of her friend’s locked car while her frail body and lungs were failing her. She pulled out her inhaler, taking a few quick puffs to steady her breath again. Then, she grabbed her phone to text Piper. </p><p>Annabeth: Hey i’m @ ur car if ur looking for me lol<br/>Annabeth: can we leave ? sry i just rlly wanna go home</p><p>Piper responded almost immediately. </p><p>Piper: Yeah r u feeling ok ? I got ur water. <br/>Piper: is it ur asthma or ….?</p><p>Annabeth: Percy tried to talk to me w/ rachel literally watching from the window. It was so awk. <br/>Annabeth: I’ll explain more in the car </p><p>On the car ride back to Annabeth’s house, the blonde explained the events that just played out. Piper was baffled how so much could’ve occurred while she was away buying a bottle of water. She felt bad again for not being there to help, but Annabeth clearly handled it well, better than the two girls thought she would. </p><p>“He’s literally so infuriating,” Annabeth explained, looking at the traffic ahead of them. She was slouching in the passenger, her head resting against the tinted window. “And he looked all upset and usually I melt at that, but today I didn’t.” </p><p>Okay, now Annabeth was straight-up lying. She was melting as he watched his confused eyes stare deep into hers. And the way his face dropped when she revealed to him that she had a panic attack? Yeah, he looked heartbroken. Half of her didn’t want the care, but the other half couldn’t help but feel bad. </p><p>“Bad bitch Annabeth, I love to see it!” Piper cheered in encouragement. The brown-haired girl honked or her horn, making Annabeth jump. </p><p>“Piper—” Annabeth said with a nervous giggle, glancing at the cars around them. Piper just kept honking and cheering, making Annabeth laugh harder. Eventually, someone honked back, and that was Piper’s clue to stop. </p><p>“You’re crazy,” Annabeth told her, still laughing. Piper looked at her friend. </p><p>“I know.” Piper beamed, bumping to the music that’d been playing on the radio. She adjusted the volume on the radio, dancing in her seat more. Then she gasped, grabbing Annabeth’s hand and shaking it profusely. “Dude, think about how much fun we’re gonna have at the dance this weekend. And Octavian’s party? You know I’m bout to get real fucked up.” Piper half-joked, she was probably gonna get really fucked up. </p><p>“Yeah,” Annabeth looked down at her hands, rubbing them together shyly. </p><p>In all honesty, she didn’t want to go to the dance. And she wasn’t gonna tell Piper this, but for the past few days, she’d been contemplating going to the at all. She didn’t have a date, she didn’t have a dress, and she couldn’t be bothered to watch Percy and Rachel get all lovey-dovey all the dance floor. That was vomit-inducing just to think about. </p><p>When Annabeth got home that night she took a long, cold shower; she was in a really bad state. Piper had been the only thing keeping her smiling after all the shit that went down that day. Part of her wanted to say “I told you so” to Piper since this basketball game played out exactly how she predicted. But then again, Annabeth was kind of thankful. She was thankful that maybe, just maybe Percy could finally understand what he did. Maybe it finally clicked in his head how badly he hurt her. In a really twisted way, it put a smile on her face. </p><p>However as she tried to fall asleep last night, she started feeling guilty. Damn her guilty conscience. What if she made Percy really really upset? What if he had actually broken down about it? She knew how bad he got whenever she had an asthma attack, and it’d be especially harmful if he knew he was the cause. No, no it couldn’t have been that bad. But still, Percy is sensitive. </p><p>Whatever, it didn’t matter; he hurt her more. But does that give Annabeth a right to be rude back? Did that make her just as bad as him? Okay, now she was feeling really guilty. Sometimes she wished she could just be unapologetically mean like Piper. Thinking about him going home and crying over this made Annabeth’s heart hurt.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i love kudos and comments, it rlly encourages me to continue writing &lt;3 leave some if you'd like, and i hope you enjoyed this chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>On the journey to find herself a dress for formal, Annabeth runs into an old friend. The gang gets ready to make their grand entrance to the Winter Formal, but something unexpected happens that none of them could see coming.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello, welcome to chapter five. thank u for all the new kudos + reads + comments! it makes me feel happy to know people are enjoying this :) get ready for chapter 5!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Those same guilty thoughts rested in the depths of Annabeth’s brain into the morning. Jesus, she was so obsessed with this entire thing it was embarrassing. She was never involved with drama like this, that was Piper’s job. And for it to involve her and Percy’s relationship both platonically and possibly romantically was killing her soul. </p><p>She tried not to think about the romance aspect of it all, but it was hard to ignore. She yelled at Percy last night for ignoring her, dismissing her feelings, not being open or communicating. However,  even though Annabeth would never want to admit it out loud, she was being a hypocrite. </p><p>Everything she condemned Percy for was the same thing she did to him after the entire “I love you” incident. Maybe ignoring her was his way of getting revenge, if revenge was something Percy’s soft heart was even capable of. And now they were just going in circles until one of them admitted to their mistakes. Annabeth most definitely didn’t want to be the first. </p><p>The first half of the next school day wasn’t as bad as she anticipated it would be. She managed to not run into Percy when arriving at school that morning, and she avoided looking at him in their classes. On occasion she caught of view of Rachel and Percy playfully flirting out of her peripherals, desperately wanting to drag them apart, but Piper was doing a great job of distracting her. And eventually, Annabeth wasn’t thinking about the couple anymore. </p><p>Well, that was all until lunch. As per usual, the seven members of their friend group sat together to eat and talk about whatever was on their mind. One side sat Jason, Percy, Frank and Hazel in that particular order while the other sat across from them, Annabeth being snuggled between Piper and Leo for exact formatting. </p><p>Annabeth and Percy were right across from each other which made the energy at the table 10x worse. The group had an idea of what happened last night, each told from either Percy or Annabeth’s perspective which contrasted one another’s so much, the other five didn’t know what was exactly true. </p><p>Every so often Annabeth glanced up from her peanut butter sandwich to analyze Percy for a moment. She simply couldn’t help it. After last night, the blonde had too many questions that she couldn’t get answered since she was choosing not to speak to Percy, so she had to figure everything out herself. But every time she looked at him, she got distracted. </p><p> </p><p>For some reason Percy looked so attractive that day. The messiness of his hair, his eyes being a clear green color, his cheeks being tinted the perfect shade of pink; he looked like a god. At times she thought she noticed Percy taking quick glances back at her, but she ignored the thought. Annabeth tried not to be obvious about her quote-on-quote “analysis” of the boy sat in front of her, but she was starting to stare so much that Piper noticed, elbowing her blonde friend to stop. </p><p>Everytime Annabeth looked away from Percy, it’s like she’d been pulled out of a trance. Did he put some sort of love spell on her last night? Why could she not look away? This was getting annoying. She needed a distracting conversation, and she needed one fast. If she peaked at Percy one more time, she might forget to stop being angry with him and melt into his affection all over again. </p><p>“You guys left the game early,” Jason commented, breaking the silence that’d been hovering over the table. Everyone’s eyes darted towards Piper and Annabeth. “Why is that?” Jason asked, genuinely curious. He stuffed his mouth with the mash potatoes they’d been serving at lunch. Jason was the only one in the group brave enough to eat from cafeteria. </p><p>Annabeth looked over at Percy, who also had a close eye on her. She didn’t know why though, he fully knew the answer. He was just curious to see what she’d say. She observed him chewing on the inside of his lip anxiously, and the table was moving from his bouncing leg. The blonde girl cleared her throat, still keeping eye contact with Percy. </p><p>“Just didn’t feel well,” She told them, not necessarily lying but not telling the full truth either. Percy looked back down at his food, he got what he needed. </p><p>Jason continued picking at his food. “Oh, well it’s a good thing you didn’t stay because we lost bad.” He said with a mouthful of mash potatoes. Piper gagged. </p><p>“God Jason, you’re disgusting,” She said with a look of disgust on her face. Jason ignored her comment, shoving more food into his mouth. Annabeth was still registering the last thing Jason told them. </p><p>“Wait, you guys lost?” She said, putting her hands in her lap. “I didn’t know that,” Annabeth told them. The boys team never lost their basketball games, they were that good. Jason let out an embarrassed laugh. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, the second half was absolute dog-shit. The other team started catching up really quick, and before we knew it we’d been dominated,” Jason explained. He looked at his darker haired who had yet to participate in the conversation. “I tried to get us back up but Percy here was so distracted by whatever thoughts were plaguing his head I accidentally hit him in the face with the basketball,”   </p><p>Jason noticed Percy’s change in body language as his shoulder slumped down like he’d been disappointed, and paused. This was the first time Jason was starting to notice something off about his friend. Percy looked uncomfortable, Annabeth looked uncomfortable. Something was going on that he didn’t know about.</p><p>Piper cleared her throat. “So, what’s everyone wearing tomorrow?” Piper said in a sing-song tone, trying to break the tension amongst her friends. Nobody responded, making Piper sigh in exasperation. “Fine, I’ll just start. I’m wearing a long gold dress that flows down to my ankles. Ooh and there’s a few hints of pure gold that I was going to add in my hair and a little on my dress” She looked so excited about it, it made Annabeth smile. </p><p>“Wait,” Jason started. “Does that mean I’m supposed to be wearing gold too?” Piper’s face dropped, suddenly looking irritated. </p><p>“Well what color were you going to wear?” Piper asked him sternly, squeezing tightly on the fork she’d been holding in her hands. Jason’s face flushed nervously. </p><p>“Well, I didn’t buy my outfit yet,” He said with a nervous chuckle. Piper was twitching in disbelief, she was on the brink of strangling Jason right then and there. </p><p>“Dude, you are a fucking idiot,” Percy laughed, peeling off another slice of the orange he’d been munching on. That was the first time Annabeth heard him speak that day. His voice sounded nice. </p><p>“Well Percy, what are you wearing?” Hazel asked him from the end of the table. “You gonna pull out your special dancing shoes like you did at last year’s dance?” Everyone at the table laughed in unison except Annabeth who couldn’t be bothered. Percy cleared his throat. </p><p>“Rachel said it’d be cool if we went with some winter theme, so we’re going with navy blue with some hints of silver.” He explained, stuffing another orange slice into his mouth. “I don’t know she has some kind of vision I guess, so I’m gonna trust it.”</p><p>Ew. Annabeth wanted to vomit all over that table. But she didn’t know if it was because she was imagining Percy and Rachel matching, or because Percy was chewing with his mouth open. </p><p> </p><p>Lunch ended rather abruptly without a conclusion to their conversation. For the rest of the day, Annabeth couldn’t stop thinking of the moments Percy chose to speak, and even the moments he chose not to. The way he got flustered sometimes as they looked at each other, or when Jason spoke of the basketball game. Sure it’s embarrassing to lose, but his reaction showed that it wasn’t just about the loss. </p><p>Annabeth wasn’t stupid and could quickly gather he was probably still shaken up about their conversation the day before. She knew this would happen, she knows how sensitive he can be. But again, she tried not to care, Rachel could make the boy feel better in their matching outfits later. </p><p>When they were talking about what everyone was wearing to the dance the next day, Annabeth failed to mention that she too hadn’t picked out a dress. She could wear the same one from last year, but that’d be so lame, and Piper would crucify her.</p><p>Her step-mom needed to take a trip to Target later so she intended on searching the dress section. Upon arrival, she realized Target had the worst selection of dresses she could ever imagine. For the smartest girl in the junior class she was terrible at planning accordingly, especially when it involved getting all glammed up. </p><p>The selection of dresses came in Christmas colors: red, green, navy &amp; light blue, white, gold, and some grey dresses, a very wide variety for Annabeth to choose from. Percy and Rachel were wearing blue colors, so that was out of the picture. Piper and Jason were supposedly matching in gold, and Hazel and Frank would match in Grey. Leo said he had a special surprise for the dance, whatever that meant. </p><p>Still, Annabeth was stuck on her decision. She ruled out the color green because it didn’t fit with what everyone else was wearing, and she never looked good in the color red. The only option left was white. </p><p>Shit, white was a little risky. Luckily she wasn’t on her period or she’d be probably be living a nightmare by the end of the dance. And even if her period doesn’t surprise her on Saturday, she could clumsily spill food or a drink onto it, creating a huge stain. But again, this was all hypothetical, and white was kind of her only option left. </p><p>She spotted a few white dresses on the back wall, looking through both long sleeved, short sleeved, and spaghetti strapped. All of them were hideous. </p><p>She groaned in annoyance, trying her best to find something that was suitable. Yesterday she didn’t care about what she was wearing in the slightest, but after hearing that everyone had a well planned outfit, finding a good looking dress was so important to her.</p><p>And then, she found one. It was plain and simple, just white with no embroidery or weird patterns. The straps were small, but she didn’t mind, she could just wear a jacket to cover it up. This was perfect, absolutely perfect. She’d go to the dance, look good for herself and herself only, and everything would be great—</p><p>Shit, it wasn’t in her size. And of course this was the only dress in that style. Just her luck, it was her last hope. </p><p>“Fucking god,” She groaned louder than she expected, smacking the hangers in front of her. She put her face in her hands, sighing loudly. It wasn’t like her to give up so quickly, but Annabeth hadn’t felt like herself for weeks.</p><p>“You good over there?” A male voice said in her direction. The voice sounded familiar, but it wasn’t any of her immediate guy friends. </p><p>She turned around flustered to see none other than Connor Stoll dressed head to toe in a target uniform. Not what she expected in the slightest. He looked at her so gently with a smile plastered on his face. Damn, that classic Connor Stoll smile. </p><p>Annabeth and Connor actually go way back. They’d both had unspoken crushes on each other in the eighth grade which was confirmed by everyone but the two. For a couple months the Stoll family would have to drive Annabeth home due to her parents working overtime, and on occasion she’d stay at the Stoll household until dinner. She even slept over a couple times. </p><p>Her infatuation with Connor was small, but an infatuation nonetheless, and Percy absolutely despised it. Connor was the topic of conversation whenever Annabeth felt the need to talk about him, which was always. She admired how he was both kind and gentle, but also chaotic at the same time. They had fun together. There was something about Connor that she always enjoyed. </p><p>“Long time no talk,” He continued since Annabeth was too stunned to speak. The blonde’s cheeks blushed a little. </p><p>“Yeah, yeah. Very long. Time.” She said in intervals<br/>
awkwardly. God she was such a dork. </p><p>“Is everything okay over here?” He repeated, taking a step closer to Annabeth. The girl suddenly remembered why she’d been in Target in the first place. </p><p>“Oh,” She said, picking at the skin on her fingers. She only did that when she was nervous. “Yeah, sorry I’m just looking for this dress for the dance.”</p><p>“You didn’t get one yet?” Connor asked. Annabeth looked down at her feet. </p><p>“No, I didn’t.” She admitted, still playing with her fingers. “I’m stupid for not getting one earlier,”</p><p>“No you’re not,” Connor said genuinely, making Annabeth’s heart flutter. “The dance is tomorrow anyways, who says you need a dress days in advance?” He reassured her. </p><p>“Piper says,” Annabeth told him. He rolled his eyes playfully, making Annabeth laugh a little. </p><p>“Piper is a maniac,” He said, making Annabeth laugh again. They shared a moment before he continued. “Anyways, are you having trouble? I could hear you groaning from the self-check out area.” Annabeth’s cheeks blushed again. </p><p>“Sorry about that. I just-I just found this perfect dress but it’s not in my size,” She told him shyly. Annabeth felt stupid about spilling this information to him. </p><p>“Can I see the dress?” He asked simply again. </p><p>So, Annabeth pulled the plain white dress from the rack and handed it to the curly haired boy, not daring to make eye contact with him. She was so embarrassed even though Connor didn’t seem to be judging her in the slightest. He observed the dress carefully, then checked the size to see it was an XS.</p><p>“I think we have this dress in the back somewhere,” He told her, not taking his eyes off the dress. Annabeth’s eyes widened. </p><p>“Really?” Annabeth asked him. </p><p>“Yeah, we totally do,” Connor told her, sounding sure of himself. “What size do you need?” Annabeth’s face dropped. </p><p>A lump formed in her throat, she did not want to tell him her size. Connor noticed her sudden change in body language, she seemed to be sinking into herself. It didn’t take him long to figure out why. He gave her a sympathetic look. </p><p>“I guess a medium?” She said quietly, looking at her feet. “But I mean if you don’t have that I can try to squeeze into a small. Or I don’t even have to get the dress it’s fine—”</p><p>“Annabeth,” Connor interrupted, his hand was on her shoulder. “If you need a medium, I’ll get you a medium. Simple as that.” </p><p>The universe just sent Annabeth Chase an angel. She was blushing too much to talk. God, Connor was the sweetest.</p><p>“So medium it is?” He asked her. She simply nodded, giving him a thankful smile. He smiled comfortably back. “You go wait by the dressing rooms, I’ll meet you there,” And then he dashed away.</p><p>Annabeth could've passed out right there. She felt dizzy, but in a strangely good way? She couldn’t even comprehend all that just happened. But it didn’t matter now, she had to get to meet Connor in the dressing rooms.</p><p>He came back with the dress only two minutes later, guiding her to an empty dressing room to try it on. So, that’s exactly what Annabeth did. She slipped on the tight white dress, nervous that it still wouldn’t fit her well. She fumbled with the side zipper, adjusted it a little, then stepped in front of the mirror. She liked how she looked, thank god. </p><p>Annabeth stepped out of the dressing room expecting to be alone, but realized Connor was still there waiting for her. When they met eyes, she could see Connor’s cheeks blush. Oh boy. </p><p>“Wow, it looks….I mean you look...great,” He said shyly. Annabeth blushed back, trying to hide the wide smile creeping onto her face. </p><p>“Thank you.” She said quietly. “I think I’m gonna buy it.” Annabeth told him. The boy just nodded in response. </p><p>“I’ll go help you with that,” He told her before she turned back into the dressing room.</p><p>The blonde couldn’t stop thinking about their interaction all the way home. Her cheeks still flashed pink, making her step-mom think she was sick or something. </p><p>Facetiming Piper later was interesting. At first, the dark haired girl was pissed Annabeth didn’t get her outfit together sooner, but her anger soon subsided when she heard about Connor Stoll. The hopeless romantic Piper seemed more excited than Annabeth was. </p><p>“I literally have to tell Hazel,” Piper said, pulling out her phone. The two girls had been facetiming on their laptops.</p><p>“No Piper don’t do that because she’s gonna tell Leo and Frank and they’re gonna tell Jason and he’s gonna tell Percy—” </p><p>Piper paused. </p><p>“What’s wrong with Percy knowing?” She asked the blonde girl. Annabeth swallowed thickly, there was so much wrong with Percy knowing. The blonde shrugged. </p><p>“Okay well it’s not just about that,” Annabeth tried to explain. “It’s just not even really a big deal and I don’t want this somehow getting back to Connor. He’s gonna think I’m think I like him again after one stupid interaction,” </p><p>“Well do you like him?” Piper said with a smirk. Annabeth rolled her eyes. </p><p>“Oh my gosh I literally talked to him like for the first time since eight grade, I don’t know.” Annabeth told<br/>
Piper. </p><p>“You don’t know? So does that mean you’re thinking about it? You said you guys were both blushing a lot,”</p><p>“I blush all the time!” Annabeth exclaimed, blushing as she responded to Piper. </p><p>“You should dance with him tomorrow,” Piper said, patting herself on the back for her sudden idea. </p><p>“Piper McLean, you are out of your mind,” </p><p>“No but picture it, seriously. You were all bummed about not having a date to the dance, but Connor Stoll is right there,” </p><p>“What if he has a date?” Annabeth asked. </p><p>“I already asked his brother, he doesn’t,” Piper admitted.</p><p>“Piper!”</p><p>“Listen Beth, I’m just trying to help you. Don’t you want to get over this Percy slump?”</p><p>“You’ve gotta stop calling me weird nicknames—” </p><p>“Just think about it,” </p><p>The next day Annabeth pulled into the driveway of Piper’s house around 4:30 to get ready. She always felt out of place coming to Piper’s mansion since her house wasn’t nearly as big. The mansion was only two stories but had a grand foyer with spiral stairs, glass windows, marble floors, a large backyard pool, and a movie room in her basement with soundproof walls. Plus, the entire lot was guarded off by a high fence gate; the perks of having a famous dad. </p><p>Annabeth sheepishly entered her friend’s house, making her way through the upstairs hallway to find Piper’s bedroom at the end of the hall. Piper squealed seeing her blonde friend enter her large bedroom, dragging Annabeth inside immediately.</p><p>“So what are we doing with this hair?” Piper said, placing Annabeth at her white vanity covered in makeup and hair accessories. Annabeth looked offended. </p><p>“Well I was just gonna wear it like this,” Annabeth responded. Piper tried to hide the disgust on her face. </p><p>“Annabeth, taking a shower and blowing it dry is not enough for our Junior Year Winter Formal,” Piper gritted through her teeth, putting both hands on Annabeth’s shoulders. “Plus we gotta make you look good for Connor today,” Piper playfully kissed her friend on the cheek. She was so touchy today. </p><p>“Will you let that go?” Annabeth groaned, putting her face in her hands to hide her blushing cheeks.</p><p>“Never,” Piper told her friend. “Not until I see you two kissing on that dance floor,” </p><p>“Oh so you want us kissing now,” </p><p>Hazel arrived at Piper's house around 5:30 since she had a play rehearsal before. She was basically dressed already, so she quietly watched as Piper rambled on about her Jason issues while tending to Annabeth’s knotted hair. </p><p>Annabeth begged to do her own makeup, and Piper agreed since she had to do her own anyways. Annabeth applied light blush, mascara, and brushed out her eyebrows, but that’s as much makeup she was willing to put on. Plus, she didn’t really know how to do much else. </p><p>All three girls were fully dressed at six. The unplanned color coordination of Piper, Hazel, and Annabeth was very pleasing to look at. They all looked good, especially Piper; it was clear she put a lot of effort into her outfit, and it definitely paid off. </p><p>“Annabeth you look sexy,” Piper teased, smacking her friend on the butt. Annabeth yelped, pinching Piper in the arm.</p><p>“I’ll slap that makeup right off your face,” Annabeth threatened lightly, making Piper laugh as she applied more lip gloss. </p><p>“She’s right though,” Hazel said from across the room, applying some gloss in the mirror. “The dress fits you really well,” Annabeth smiled at the younger girl. </p><p>“Connor agrees,” Piper said under her breath, grinning to herself. Annabeth was about ready to kill her. </p><p>“Ignore her,” Annabeth told Hazel, though she felt bad having Hazel not understand. The younger was usually left out of the girls’ conversations since they were grades apart, but Piper and Annabeth never meant it on purpose. </p><p>“Oh guys,” Piper started, turning towards her friends. “The boys will be here in like 15 minutes to take pictures. So it’ll be us seven and, um…” </p><p>The next thing Piper said was in an inaudible whisper. Annabeth arched her eyebrow. </p><p>“What?” Annabeth asked, leaning in closer to her friend. Again Piper mumbled something under her breath that neither girl could understand. “Girl if you don’t speak up—” Piper cleared her throat.</p><p>“Racheliscomingovertotakepictureswithus,” Piper said quickly, but Annabeth and Hazel could finally understand. “Okay yeah that’s all,” Piper said, walking away from the conversation.</p><p>“Why is she coming,” Annabeth said bitterly, crossing her arms. Piper sighed, looking at her friend calmly. </p><p>“Because she’s Percy’s date and we need her in pictures,” Piper explained carefully, but it wasn’t careful enough for Annabeth. She looked irritated. </p><p>“But we’ve always just had the group come take pictures,” Annabeth whined. Piper groaned in annoyance. </p><p>“Yeah well things are different now,” Piper told her friend straightly. “And I told you to stop being annoyed with Rachel for getting asked out by Percy, it’s not her fault. You need to work on that,” </p><p>Then Piper got back to applying more makeup. Annabeth wanted to be mad, but Piper was right, things were different now. She was being a total bitch and she had to get over it. She didn’t even care about Percy anyways. Well, she wasn’t supposed to care at least. </p><p>The boys plus Rachel arrived in the driveway fifteen minutes later just as Piper suspected. Annabeth and Hazel watched from Piper greet the new arrivals from the large bedroom window. From what the two girls saw, the boys actually looked cleaned up rather nicely. Annabeth could spot Rachel’s vibrant hair but nothing else about her. </p><p>“I guess it’s time to go down now,” Hazel said, taking a deep breath. She sounded rather nervous. Annabeth looked at her.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess it is,” The blonde replied. At that moment it registered in Annabeth’s mind that this was Hazel’s first winter dance in high school. The younger girl was practically shaking. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m just as nervous as you,” </p><p>Hazel didn’t respond, just nodded to Annabeth’s comforting words. It did make her feel better a little, and Annabeth was glad she could provide the younger girl some comfort. At least one of them was feeling a little better. The boys loudly made their way inside, their deep voices echoing through the foyer downstairs. Annabeth could hear Percy asking where she was and her heart fluttered a little. Jesus this was such a curse. </p><p>“Annabeth and Hazel come down, we gotta take pictures,” Piper yelled from beneath them.</p><p>Hazel went first, Annabeth slowly trailing behind her. She listened as the boys clapped for Hazel walking down the stairs, giving her sweet compliments about her hair or outfit. The blonde could hear Hazel’s precious giggles, making her heart feel warm. But now, it was Annabeth’s turn.</p><p>Annabeth’s slow entrance immediately gained attention from her peers. She couldn’t necessarily read their expression which made her feel anxious. </p><p>Maybe she was overdressed, or even underdressed. Was her hair not good enough? Was there something wrong with her makeup? She probably looked absolutely horrible. This was such a nightmare she wanted to run away and hide—</p><p>“Wow,” Jason interrupted the blonde girl’s thoughts. “Beth you look good,” He complimented. Piper was standing next to him, looking proud. All her worries began filtering away. </p><p>“Really?” Annabeth said tediously with a shy smile.The group nodded in response. </p><p>She turned her head towards Percy who seemed to be frozen in his facial expression. His jaw was gaping, and he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her. He looked completely stunned. Annabeth swallowed thickly, not too sure of what that expression meant, but it was probably better if she didn’t know. </p><p>“Oh my gosh, Annabeth you look so pretty!” Rachel squealed, pulling herself off of Percy’s arm. </p><p>She approached the blonde, who was standing at the bottom step, and forced her into a tight hug. Annabeth nearly stumbled onto her feet. Annabeth darted her eyes towards Piper, trying to pass a discreetly confused and bothered expression, but Piper pretended not to see it. </p><p>When they pulled away from the hug, Rachel was giving Annabeth a smile, so Annabeth gave Rachel a fake smile in return. </p><p>“Wait a minute,” Percy said, clearing his throat. He looked both girls up and down, and the group watched his face flush in real time. “Are you guys wearing the same dress?” He asked, nearly breaking into a sweat.</p><p>At first, Annabeth wanted to ask him, “what the hell are you talking about?” because of course the two weren’t wearing the same dress. Rachel was supposed to be wearing navy. But then, when Annabeth took another look at the red head, her brain registered that Rachel was in fact not wearing navy blue, but white. And that the dress was the same style as hers, making it the same dress. </p><p>“Percy, I thought you said you guys were matching in navy?” Annabeth asked, trying to contain her anger. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Rachel. How the fuck was this happening right now? Percy looked ready to pass out. </p><p>“Well, we were supposed to, but something happened with the other dress so I had to get this one last minute. It was so stressful, but thank god I found one that fit me” Rachel told an absolutely appalled Annabeth. The red head didn’t seem to find an issue about this at all. </p><p>“At the target by the school?” Annabeth asked, trying to keep her eye from twitching. Rachel nodded, still giving her an innocent smile. “And you got the only one you saw,” Again, Rachel nodded.</p><p>“There were navy dresses around but at that moment I decided Percy and I would look better with contrasting winter colors. Don’t you agree?” Rachel asked, making her way back to Percy’s arm. </p><p>It took everything in Annabeth to not start screaming right then and there. She was fuming, steam might as well have been coming out her ears. Percy recognized that fury in his best friend and felt a wave of panic rush through his body, there was no way of knowing how this situation would continue. </p><p>This was so, so bad. Nobody else in the group had anything to say about it, mainly because they didn’t have anything to add that’d make the situation better, or at least ease the tension. Rachel still hadn’t seemed to notice a problem. The room was quiet for a moment, but Piper had to speak up before the silence made things even worse. </p><p>“Well, is everyone ready to take pictures,” She breathed out with a clap, releasing the panicked tension she didn’t realize she was holding in. “The limo will be here soon so we should probably get going,” </p><p>“Yeah,”<br/>
“Please,”<br/>
“Let’s go,”<br/>
The group said, quickly moving towards the double-door entrance of the house. Annabeth stood still, too angry to move from where she was. She didn’t want to take pictures, she didn’t even want to go to the dance anymore. Was she being stubborn? Maybe. But she didn’t care. She cursed the Gods for making this her terrible fate. Piper slowly approached her as the rest of the group made their way outside. </p><p>“Annabeth—”</p><p>“I swear to god Piper I’m actually going to kill everyone, and then myself,” Annabeth said, making Piper’s mouth quickly shut. “That was dramatic but—” </p><p>“Look it’s not as bad as you think…” Piper tried to assure her friend, but Annabeth shook her head. </p><p>“We are wearing the exact same dress! That sounds pretty fucking bad to me,” Annabeth exclaimed in a whispered scream. Piper couldn’t disagree, it was pretty bad, but still she tried to calm Annabeth down. </p><p>“It’s fine Beth, it’s just a dress,” Piper said. Annabeth’s eyes widened, her body seething with anger. </p><p>“I know you Piper McClean did not just tell me it’s just a dress,” Annabeth said sternly, folding her arms. “What if you showed up to the dance and Reyna was wearing the same dress as you? The two girls who dated Jason Grace wearing the same dress sounds pretty bad to me, don’t you think?” </p><p>“It does sound bad but there’s a major difference here, Annabeth,” Piper agreed. Annabeth raised her eyebrows, waiting for Piper to continue. “You and Percy never dated,” </p><p>Suddenly Annabeth’s mood completely changed. For some reason she forgot she never actually dated Percy, though sometimes it felt like she did. They weren’t exes, they weren’t even ex-best friends, they were just in a petty fight due to her selfishness. </p><p>Percy wasn’t her boyfriend. Percy and Annabeth never dated. And they never would. </p><p>“You guys coming?” Jason asked, revealing himself in the crack of the door. </p><p>“Yup, we’ll be right there,” Piper told him before he left the two alone again. The brown haired girl turned to face her friend again. “You don’t have to take pictures. But we’re gonna go to that dance and you’re gonna have fun,” </p><p>Annabeth suddenly had an idea. </p><p>The blonde slowly nodded. “Yeah, I am,” She said, looking at her friend. Piper smiled before Annabeth continued. “And you know what else I’m gonna do?” Piper furrowed her eyebrows, but smirked at her friend excitedly. </p><p>“What?” </p><p>“I’m gonna dance with Connor Stoll,”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>WHEW a lot just happened, and a lot more is going to happen moving forward. It’ll take me a while to finish it all but I’ll get it to u ASAP. Make sure you leave comments, it really motivates me to continue. Thanks for reading, xoxoxo</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey y'all......it's been a minute. i kinda wanna drop this fic, but also wanted to know if ppl were still enjoying this so i wrote up this average and pretty short chapter just for a test run lol. for anyone who writes, u know how hard writer's block hits. i mean it's been months....</p><p>anyways enjoy this! bc it may be the last of all this</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taking pictures was way harder than Percy thought it’d be. All he had to do was stand in front of a camera, Rachel at his side, and say cheese. Shouldn’t be that hard, right? Wrong. Especially when it’s your best friend behind the camera taking pictures of you. </p><p>“Three, two, one— wait stop,” Annabeth said, pointing the phone towards her best friend and his date. “Percy, can you cooperate and maybe smile? You look like you’re gonna piss your pants,” </p><p>And Percy was. This whole same dress fiasco was ripping him up from the inside. Quite honestly he seemed more flustered about it than both Annabeth and Rachel combined, and he wasn’t even the one wearing the dress. </p><p>These past few days, weeks even, have already been stressful enough worrying about both his date with Rachel and he and Annabeth’s friendship. And now, the two girls he admired and cared for the most were both wearing the same thing, which was just his luck. Both girls did look good in them, but he couldn’t take his eyes off one in particular; the girl he wasn’t supposed to be looking at. </p><p>After he and Annabeth’s argument a few nights ago, he’s been absolutely restless trying to figure out how he was gonna fix things. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was, and he wanted to just comfort her and explain how he just wanted everything to go back to normal. But the last time he tried that it ended terribly with both of them in tears, though Percy waited to spill his until he got home that night. </p><p>Everything was going up into flames and he couldn’t do anything about it.</p><p>“Percy, just relax, it’s only Winter Formal pictures,” Rachel said, caressing the boy's pink cheeks. </p><p>“Yeah dude, you look cute,” Jason winked from across the driveway where he and Piper were taking their own pictures. He blew Percy a flirtatious kiss. </p><p>Percy slapped a hand to his chest, pretending his heart was melting inside of it. “Thank you bro,” He said, blowing a kiss back. </p><p>Surprisingly it made Annabeth laugh, gaining Percy’s attention. He hadn’t heard her laugh in probably days, and he missed it more than he thought he did. He felt his heart smile. A grin slowly formed on his cheeks as he just watched Annabeth scrunch up her nose from laughing. </p><p>“There’s that smile we’ve been waiting to see,” Rachel exclaimed, shaking Percy lightly. He’s been pulled out of his gaze, realizing what they were standing there for in the first place. “Now look at Annabeth and smile for the pictures,” </p><p>That wasn’t going to be hard. </p><p>Piper and Jason continued taking pictures for a while since Piper had to coach him on modeling. Jason was always the type to just give a thumbs up and smile for pictures, but that wasn’t going to make the cut on Piper’s instagram. </p><p>Hazel, Frank, and Leo were mainly taking fun selfies in their outfits. Leo was also matching in grey with the two but decided to put paint splats on the front and back of his tux in rainbow colors. Percy didn’t really get the vision, but it didn’t matter, it was a very Leo thing to do. </p><p>“Annabeth, are you sure you don’t want any pictures? I mean you look too good to pass up on this opportunity,” Piper said as the group huddled in a circle, still waiting for the limo to arrive. Annabeth shrugged. </p><p>“I don’t know, I’m not really feeling up for it,” She told everyone, who all looked at her disappointedly. “Maybe I’ll save it for Prom,” she tried to reassure them. Piper then got a notification on her phone.</p><p>“Looks like the Limo’s here,” She declared, everyone cheering in response. “Okay, let’s go meet him in the front,” </p><p>The group began traveling towards the entrance gate in unison, the sound of the girls’ heels clicking against the driveway, but Percy wasn’t ready to go just yet.</p><p>He couldn’t pass up on this opportunity for him and Annabeth to talk. Once they got out of that Limo, both of them would go their separate ways and probably not talk to each other for the rest of the night. He wouldn’t be able to focus on Rachel if yearning for Annabeth was the only thing in his mind. He just needed to speak to her. </p><p>“Wait a minute—” Percy told the group, making them pause in their tracks. “Annabeth,” He started, not being able to find the words to continue. </p><p>“Yes?” She asked, lifting her eyebrows. She looked like she was trying to mask her true feelings under an irritated expression. </p><p>“My mom actually wants some pictures of us from before we leave for the dance and probably get our outfits all sweaty and ruined,” He said, getting a look of disgust from Annabeth in response. Percy shook his head and scrunched up his face in embarrassment. “I don’t know why I said that, but anyway, can we take some?” Percy started scratching the back of his head. </p><p>Annabeth crossed her arms and huffed, blowing a curl away from the front of her hair. </p><p>“Fine,” She said simply, not wanting to walk towards him. Percy gave her a smile, Annabeth didn’t give one back. </p><p>“Leo, can you take the pictures of them while the rest of us huddle in the Limo? I’ll just tell the driver to wait for us,” Piper asked the younger boy. </p><p>So, the group minus Leo, Annabeth, and Percy all made their way out of the gate, excitedly entering the long black Limo ahead of them. </p><p>“I’ll meet you inside,” Rachel said with a wink before walking away to the rest of the group. Annabeth rolled her eyes when she knew Rachel was no longer looking in their direction. </p><p>Leo sighed, turning towards Annabeth and Percy who were standing feet away from each other. “Okay you two, get closer,” Leo said, grabbing his phone out of his back pocket. </p><p>Annabeth didn’t budge, keeping her arms crossed over her chest. She was looking to her right while Percy came closer on her left. There was still a big separation between the two. </p><p>Leo squinted, making a high pitched whining sound. “A little closer,” He dragged out, giving hand motions to Percy. </p><p>The two were shoulder to shoulder now, and Percy could feel Annabeth shudder at physical contact. She still wasn’t looking at him, but he swore he could see her cheeks getting brighter. </p><p>“Now, I need both of you to just look at the camera and smile, please,” Leo begged, trying to get Annabeth to cooperate. She groaned, turning to face the brown haired photographer. “There we go sweetheart,” </p><p>“Don’t call me that,” Annabeth snapped back at Leo, but Leo continued smiling to himself. </p><p>“Okay now on three just smile,” Leo told the two.</p><p>This was Percy’s chance, he had to say something. Once this picture was taken, his only chance to speak to her was gone. Percy just needed to say anything, anything at all. Something to let her know he’s thinking about her. </p><p>Leo started counting down, “Okay one….”</p><p>Come on, Percy.</p><p>“Two,”</p><p>Any moment now, Percy. </p><p>“And—”</p><p>“You look really pretty,” Percy blurted, looking towards his blonde friend. Annabeth’s head spun towards him, her eyes wide with blushing cheeks. </p><p>“What?” She asked him, her voice quiet but filled with an overwhelming emotion Percy couldn’t detect. </p><p>“Three!” The camera snapped, and both Percy and Annabeth weren’t looking towards it, but at each other. </p><p>Their eye contact was strong, not even the flash could break it apart. There was more Percy wanted to say, and Annabeth looked like she had more to respond, but the two were completely tongue tied. Percy could feel his heart beating out of his chest, he didn’t really think this one through (as usual). </p><p>“Oh c’mon neither of you guys were looking at the camera—” Leo whined, analyzing the picture he took. </p><p>“You know what Leo, that’ll do. We should probably go,” Annabeth said, breaking eye contact first. She dashed away quickly, almost twisting her ankle from running in heels. </p><p>“Yeah, Leo just airdrop me the pictures okay?” Percy said quickly, as he watched Annabeth run away. He then trailed behind her, leaving Leo standing alone. </p><p>“What the fuck is up with those two?” Leo whispered under his breath before making his way to the vehicle. </p><p> </p><p>Annabeth kept her promise that night, she managed to dance with Connor Stoll. How she found the courage to do so? Well, she truly didn’t know. It was so unlike her, so out of character. But the sight of Percy and Rachel being praised while she walked behind them in their shadow was enough to pull Connor on the dance floor. </p><p>At first, Annabeth worried that she was only doing this to impress Percy, maybe even make him jealous. But she was actually having a good time. Connor Stoll is pretty shit at dancing, but so was she. I mean, that’s how she got in this whole mess. But them flailing their arms in the air was somehow comforting for the girl. </p><p>They spent the majority of the night dancing, whether it be Nikki Minaj or Adele playing, their feet were moving. Whoever was in control of the music really did not have the best music selection, but it didn’t spoil the night.</p><p>Annabeth was actually having fun. </p><p>Eventually, it was time for a slow dance. Annabeth gladly took Connor’s hand in her’s, preparing for the slow song to begin. But she caught herself trying to find Percy amongst the crowd. </p><p>Was he dancing with Rachel? Well of course he was. He had to be. That’s why they were there together, obviously. But she didn’t enjoy the thought of it. </p><p>After glancing around for a few moments, she caught a good glimpse of him and Rachel; a picture-perfect image quite actually. Percy’s arms around Rachel’s waist, Rachel’s arms around his neck. Both standing very close. </p><p>It was sickening. </p><p>But the blonde couldn’t take her eyes off the scene. She felt guilty, she was supposed to be looking at Connor, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of Percy. What if he and Rachel kissed? Or took it further and made out? What an absolute nightmare. No way she’d be able to handle that. </p><p>For one, because she would have to be watching her best friend kiss a girl in general. But also, because the girl he was kissing wasn’t her. And that didn’t feel right. </p><p>It seemed Annabeth wasn’t the only one of the pair having these thoughts because she could feel Percy’s eyes drift over to her’s. He looked angry. She couldn’t tell if Rachel noticed, she couldn’t even tell if Connor noticed either. But it’s like they were playing a game of cat and mouse. Who would catch who looking next? This was exhausting. </p><p>Eventually, the dreadfully long slow song was over. Annabeth finally took her eyes away from Percy, looking at the curly-haired boy in front of her. She gave him a fake smile, praying it was somewhat believable. He gave her a weird look, almost concerned. </p><p>“Are you okay?” </p><p>Annabeth wasn’t sure how to respond. She hesitated, turning her head back towards where Percy had been standing. But he seemed to be gone, Rachel alone on the dance floor now, talking to some other people who’d been around them. </p><p>Without looking at Connor, Annabeth replied. </p><p>“Yeah. Yeah, I just need some air,” And with that, she left Connor and dashed away towards the nearest exit. Or at least the exit she assumed Percy went through. </p><p>And her assumption was correct because she found the tall dark-haired boy standing alone in the hallway. She already felt annoyed, which wasn’t fair because she was the one who followed him out here. </p><p>He noticed her presence, turning around to make strong eye contact with her. He looked just as annoyed as Annabeth did. She was taken aback. </p><p>“Is there a problem, Jackson?” The girl asked, folding her arms across her chest. Percy scoffed, shaking his head away from her. </p><p>“You danced with Connor Stoll?” </p><p>“You danced with Rachel,” Annabeth countered. </p><p>“She’s my date.” </p><p>“And he’s mine.” </p><p>Percy squinted his eyes in confusion. </p><p>“Since when?” </p><p>Annabeth didn’t want to answer, but she did anyway. </p><p>“Since today,” She felt kind of pathetic saying it. </p><p>“Oh wow,” </p><p>“You are not allowed to be angry right now,” Annabeth said, stepping closer to him. “You asked Rachel to the fucking dance Percy-” </p><p>“She’s not even as bad as you make her out to be,” </p><p>“Neither is Connor,” </p><p>“Then why are you out here pestering me instead of dancing inside?” </p><p>“I could ask you the same question,” Annabeth snapped. Percy had nothing to say. “And I’m the one pestering you? Are you choosing to forget you whole ‘you look pretty’ earlier or-” </p><p>“What did you want me to say?” </p><p>“Nothing. You didn’t have to say anything,” Annabeth’s voice echoed through the empty hallway. “You were the one who asked for a fucking picture.”</p><p>“Because my mom wanted it,” </p><p>“Well, we could’ve taken the picture in silence.” </p><p>“Fine.” He said. </p><p>They were quiet for a moment. Then, </p><p>“You were the one who hurt me, Percy.” She told him. “You lied to me and you ignored me for a week and somehow you’re made at me. After all that you have the audacity to be angry that I simply danced with Connor Stoll. You asked out Rachel Dare without informing me,” </p><p>“What was I supposed to do?” He stepped closer to her. They were inches away from each other. </p><p>“Maybe muster up the courage to ask me before you fuck everything over for yourself and everyone around you,” They were face to face. Breath to breath. Just like a couple nights ago. </p><p>Annabeth felt like crying, Percy wanted to leave. But they couldn’t move away from their current position. They felt stuck, they felt like they needed to do something. But what they wanted to do, they couldn’t. </p><p>So they backed away. </p><p>Annabeth took a deep breath, Percy cleared his throat. </p><p>“I’m going back inside.” Annabeth declared. “Have fun with your date,” She remarked before walking in the opposite direction. </p><p>“Yeah you too,” He said sarcastically. </p><p>Annabeth felt sick.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i rlly wanna just make a new fic bc i'm tired of this one. but ik that can be disappointing and annoying so lmk what u think! thanks for reading</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh wow, you made it to the end. Thanks for reading!<br/>Leave kudos and comments please &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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